Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1895-11-27
What We Must Have.

That has no hons IN IL.
What We Must Have.
Be not afraid, only believe.-Mark, ", SO.
1t is an infinite satisfaction to believe
in God and in His providence. True
religion brings peace of mind and peace
of heart. A faith that knows where to
go as certainly as does the homing
pigeon, and goes there with the assur
ance that no mistake is possible, exerts
an influence over a mans life which
gives him courage, endurance and res
ignation. AS a controlling factor in
human life nothing that you ever
dreamed of will compare with the con
seriousness that you have long future
ahead and that the angels are guiding
your feet in the right path.
Philosophy and science certainly
bring great happiness to their students.
To probe the secrets of the universe is
avery delightful and charming employ
ment, and there is a kind of ecstacy
which attends success. The regnant
and imperial scholarship of the day,
whether it defends or attacks our time
honored beliefs, is an unalloyed bless
ing, for truth is truth and cannot be
name for weakness, and the sooner it
is forced to abdicate the better. But
eveu scholarship has 'ongings which
scholarship itself cannot satisfy. You
may roam far, but if you reach the end
of the world, and cannot discover what
lies beyond, you are restless and discon-
tented. How the universe is governed
may be a very important matter to set
tie, but the greater question is, Who
governs it? You may lose yourself in
wonder as you contemplate the godlike
faculties of the soul, but unless you be-
lieve in the continuity of that soul af
ter death your theories are like the
rocket whose many colored lights ex-
plode in midair and then go out in dark
ness.
In like manner, it seems to be alto
gether admirable when man, by dint
of sheer will, wrings a fortune from
niggardly circumstance. Such a man
makes the whole world stronger, and
his example is an incentive to the on
coming generation. He has found the
magic lamp of Aladdin, and by its
means can surround himself with the
luxuries as well as the comforts of life.
1t is folly to begrudge him his good
luck, for he has earned it and he de
serves it. like to think that the days
of miracles are not over, and that we
have miracle workers in our own neigh
borhood. But no one appreciates the
fact more keenly than the wealthy man
himself that certain desirable things
are unpurchasable. There are yearn
ings which money can no more satisfy
than pearls can feed the hungry Or dia
monds qucnch our thirst The rich
mans sorrow is like the poor man
sorrow when trouble comes, for what
they both want was never yet found III
a pocketbook, but in brain and heart.
Not all the wealth that was ever count
ed can bribe either disease or death
A grave is still a grave, though a cost
ly monument marks it. and the tears
of the rich flow as freely as those of the
poor.
1t is not money that we want most of
all, but simple, childlike faith. With
that in your safe possession you can
face events and have a heart for any
fate. Without that you are creature
to be pitied, though you have galleries
of pictures and Golconda within reach.
Men are made out of ideas, and pur
poses, and clear conception of their
duty and their destiny; not out of gold
and silver and banknotes.
There in the room where you need no
longer to tread lightly, for there is no
fear of waking the sleeper, lies one so
dear that you would have given your
life for him. But, after all your watch
ing, the summons came and he sped on
his way into the unknown. Nothing
is left but the poor body, and, precious
as it is, you must soon carry it to that
God'sa acre where you will follow in
good time. The life has gone out of it,
and If has hnann1a 70
caresses. You cry aloud, but the ears
are deaf and the eyes will open never
more. The house is lonely, whether it
be howell or palace. and an awful mys
terry, like cloud, envelops you.
Let US stand in the presence of death
together while | ask some serious ques-
tions. What is the best frame of mind
In which to meet such an emergency
as that? What course of thought will
convert it into an ennobling influence
in your life and enable you to make
such use of the experience that you
will be a better man in consequence of
it? Is it possible for any one, under
such circumstances, to feel that what
has happened, mysterious and painful
as it is, is the best thing that could
have happened both for those who are
left and for him who has departed?
These aresgrave matters, and there is
not a man in the world who has not had
sorrowful occasion to ponder them. An
answer can be had, and that answer
has note of triumph in it. like
sudden bugle blast it tingles the nerves
and makes the heart beat quickly.
Religion alone will serve your Dur
pose. You need it and you must have
it at such time. Your wealth, your
fame, your social position count for
nothing. They afford you no relief.
and can furnish you with no consola
ton. There is one way, and but one,
in which strength to bear quietly will
come to you, and that is through an
honest faith.
Believe that behind all things which
occur is controlling wisdom, and that
this controlling wisdom is itself con-
trolled by love, and you have cast
anchor where it will hold in spite of
waves and tempests.
The thought that blind chance rules
is simply a new horror added to your
grief-a fresh note of agony in your re-
QUEEN to the dead. Doubt is dismal.
and earth becomes a kind of Internal
region. But with faith that He has
done it. and done it with pity for you,
that you must needs weep, but still done
it because it was the right thing to do.
as you yourself will see by and by, and
the whole character of the event is
changed.
A man must build on certain ideas as
corner stones-on faith in the All Faith
er, on His helpfulness in troublous
times, on the promise of Christ that He
would prepare place for ouand yours
or it is useless to build at all, for the
first shock will crumble his hopes to
ruins. Give man God to look up to
and heaven to look forward to, and
thenceforth he is safe, beyond the
reach of harm
aepReA Z HEPwoHTis!