Milford chronicle., 1895-02-01
Hark. From the rombsl

probation Of marriage. II your observf
tion has put you in an attitude OF deplOri
tiun for the marriage state, one of tw
things is true in regard TO you-you hav
either been unfortunate in your acquaini
anceship. or you yourself are morally roi
ten The world, not as rapid as we woul
like, but still with long strides, is on tn
way to the scenes Of beatitude and felicit
which the Bible depicts. The man VIII
cannot see this is wrong, either in hi
heart or liver or spleen.
Look at the great Bible picture gallery
where Isaiah has set up the pictures o
aborescence, girdling the world with ceda
and fir and pine and lockwood, and the liol
led by child, and St. Johns pictures o
waters and trees, and white horse cavalry
and tears wiped away, and trumpets blown
and hurps struck, and nations redeemed
While there are ten thousand things 1 d.
not like, have not seen any discourage
ment for the cause of God for 20 years
The kingdom is coming. The earth is pre-
pairing to put on bridal array. We need Il
bo getting our anthems and grand marche
ready. In our hymnology we shall hav'
more use for Antioch" than for wind
ham, " for Ariel than for Naomi - lie
"Hark, From the Tombs a DolCful Cryl'
be submerged with Joy TO the World, thl
Lord Is Comen' Really, if l thought thl
human race were as determined TO be bad
and getting worse, as the possimists repre-
sent, l would think it was hardly wortl
saving If after hundreds Of years OF
eospelization no improvement has beer
made, let us give it up and go at some
thing else besides praying and preaching
- haA h 70
in quick results and could go forth rightly
equipped with the gospel call the battle
for God and righteousness would end witt
this nineteenth century, and the twentieth
century, only five or six years of, would
begin the millennium, and Christ would
reign, either in person on some throne sci
up between the Alleghanies and the
Rockies, or in the institutions of mercy
and grandeur set up by his ransomed peO
pie Discouraged work will meet with de-
feat Expectant and buoyant work will
gain the victory. Start out with the idea
that all men are liars and scoundrels, and
that everybody is as bad as he can be, and
that society," and the church, and the
world are on the way to demolition, and
the only use you will ever be to the world
will be to increase the value of lots in a
cemetery. We need a more cheerful front
in all our religious work. People have
enough trouble already and do not want
to ship another cargo Of trouble in the
shape of religiosity.
The Gospel of Cheerfulness.
If religion has been to you a peace, a
defense, an inspiration and joy, say so.
Say it by word of mouth, by pen in your
right hand, by face illumined with a di-
vine satisfaction. If this world is ever to
be taken for God, it will not be by groans,
but by halleluiahs If we could present
the Christian religion as it really is in its
true attractiveness, all the people would
accept it and accept it right away. The
cities. the nations would cry out: Give
us thatl Give it to us in all its holy mag
nctism and gracious powerl Put that
salve on our wOundsl Threw back the
shutters for that morning lightl Knock
off these chains with that silver hammcrl
Give us Christ-his pardon, his peace, his
comfort his heavenl Give us Christ in
song Christ in sermon, Christ in book,
Christ in living examplel''
As system of didactics religion has
never gained one inch Of progress. As
it befogs more than it irradi-
ates As a dogmatism it is an awful fail
ure But as "a fact, as a reinforcement, as
a TRANSPORTATION, it is the mightiest thing
that ever descended from the heavens or
touched the earth Exemplify it in the
life of a good man or a good woman, and
no one can help but like it. a city mis-
sionary visited a house in London and
found sick and dying boy There was
an orange lying on his bed, and the mis-
5ionary said, Where did you get that
orange?" He said: A man brought it to
me He comes here often and reads the
Bible to me and prays with me and
brings me nice things to eat. What is
his nume? said the city missionary. Il
forget his name, " said the sick boy, but
be makes great speeches over in that great
building" pointing to the parliament
house of London The missionary asked,
' Was his name Mr. Gladstone?" Oh,
yes, - said the boy, that is his name, Mr.
Gladstone. Do you tell me man can
Zee religion like that and not like it,
An Illustration.
There is an old fashioned mother in a
Perhaps she is somewhere in
jhe seventies; perhaps 20 or 76 1t is the
,arly evening hour Through spectacles
No she is reading a newspaper until to-
ward bedtime, when she takes up well
worn book, called the Bible. l know from
he illumination in her face she is reading
me of the thanksgiving psalms, or in
Revelation the story of the II pearly
rates After awhile she closes the book
md folds her hands and thinks over the
past and seems whispering the names OF
Ter children, some Of them on earth and
ome of them in heaven. Now smile is
IN her face and now a tear, and sometimes
he smile catches the tear. The scenes Of
, long life come back to her. One minute
he sees all the children smiling around
Ter, with their toys and sports and strange
Then she remembers sew
lral Of them down sick with infantile dis
,rders. Then she sees a short grave, but
,ver it cut in marble, Suffer them to
.ome to me. Then there is the wedding
iour, and the neighbors in, and the prom
Sc of Il will, " and the departure from
he old homestead. Then a scene of hard
lines and scant bread and struggle. Then
he thinks of a few years with gush Of
and fittings Of dark shadows
md vicissitudes Then she kneels down
lowly, for many years have stiifened the
oints, and the illnesseg Of a lifetime have
made her less supple Her prayer is a
mixture of thanks for sustaining grace
Turing all those years, and thanks for
hildren good and Christian and kind, and
prayer for the wandering hoy, whom she
lopes to sec come home before her depar
ure And then her trembling lips speak
# the land of reunion, where she expects
% meet her loved ones already translated,
md after telling the Lord In very simple
anguage how much she loves him and
rusts him and hopes to see him soon /
ear her pronounce the quiet Amen,
nd she rises up-a little more difficult
fort than kneeling down And then she
uts her head on the pillow for the night,
nd the angels Of safety and peace stand
entinel about that couch in the farTu
Iouse, and her face ever and anon shows
igns of dreams about the heaven she read
4 before retiring
In tho morning the days work has be-
run down stairs, and seated at the table
he remark is made, Mother must bave
herself" 4" And the grandchildren
lso notice that grandmother is absent
rom her usual place at the table, One Of
he grandchildren goes to the foot of the
tairs and cries, Grandmother" But
here is no answer Fearing something is |
he matter. they 20 up to see, and all seems !