The Kosciusko star. (Kosciusko, Miss.) 18??-1898, 1895-08-23
The Beautitude For Sorrow.

assemble, life through, to listen tC
gospel that said nothing t o suff.
erers, nothing to sorrow" An ole
theological professor said to his
students, "Never go through q
service without some word, in ser
mon or prayer, for the troubled;
for in every congregation there will
be at least one heart hungry fol-
comfort"
The gospel is for all experiences
The religion Of the Christ is fol
our times Of gladness as we'll as
for our days OF trouble. 1t is not
merely a lamp to shine in our dark
nights. We never need Chris,
more than when the world is shin
ing u con US. Yet Christianity is
peculiarly a religion for sorrow.
This is one reason the Bible is so
precious to men and women every
where. 1t is full of sympathy
On every page it has words Of COM
fort. In every chapter we feel the
heartbeat of divine love. The
preacher who has no comfort in his
sermons will soon find his congre-
CATION melting away. Poor, ach-
ing hearts will not long come to a
ministry in which they do not find
warm sympathy, in which they do
not feel continually the heartbeat
of Christ.
Many people must think that
Christ's beautitude for mourners is
a strange one: Blessed are they
that mourn" Blessed means
something very good, very beauti-
fol. To be blessed is to be happy,
prosperous, favored. But if we
were asked to name the people
who are happiest and most favored
of all We know, we should not like
]y name those who are passing
through affection. How can the
strange paradox of Christ's beauti.
tude be explained?
Blessed are they that mourn;
for they shall be comforted."
There must be something very
precious, very rich, in Gods COM
fort. that makes it worth while
even to have sorrow and loss to
get it. What is comfort? Some
of US think we are comforting peo-
pie when we sit down beside them,
in their trouble, end sympathize
with them, as we call it, going
down into the depths with them,
but doing nothing to lift them up.
When will good people learn that
their errand to their friends in
sorrow is to help them, to put
cheer into their hearts. To COM
fort, in the Bible sense, is TO
strengthen. We comfort others
truly when we make them stronger
to endure, when we enable them
to pass through their sorrow vic
toriously. That is the day Christ
comforts.
He comforts in bereavement by
showing US what death is to a
Christian. If we could see what
dying means to our beloved ones
We could not weep. There is a
beautiful story Of boy whose
young sister was dying. He had
heard that if he could secure but a
single leaf from the tree Of life.
that grew in the garden OF GOD, the
illness could be healed. He set
ont to find the garden, and implore
the angel sentinel to let him have
one leaf The angel asked the bov
if he could promise that his sister
should never be sick any more. if
his request were granted, and that
she should never be unhappy, nor
do wrong, nor be cold or hungry,
nor be treated harshly. The boy
said he could not promise. Then
the angel opened the gate a little
way, bidding the child to look into
the garden for moment, to have
one glimpse of the garden Then,
If you still wish it," said the an
gel, Il will myself ask the King
for a leaf from the tree Of life to
heal your sister" The child look
ed in, and after seeing all the Won
drous beauty and blessedness, he
said softly to the angel, II will
not ask for the leaf now. There Is
no place in all the world so oeauti-
full as that. There is no friend So
kind as the Angel of Death.
wish he would take me too."
Ii we could look in at the gate
through which our loved ones