Democratic messenger. [volume] (Snow Hill, Md.) 1869-1973, 1895-04-06

AcCt halcty VI INC aKkl Inc SURF Oh tno
sea and the lightnings of the sky may
be twisted into a garland Of snow and
fire-deep to deep. storm 10 storm. dark
ness to darkness-but once in the ark all
is we'll God shut him in" There
comes upon the good man deluge Of
financial trouble He had his thousands
to lend. Now he cannot borrow dollar.
He once owned store in New York
and had branch houses in Boston, Phil
adelphia and New Orleans. He owned
four horses and employed n man to keep
the dust off his coach. phaeton. car
riage and curricle; now he has hard
work to get shoes in which 20 walk.
Tho great deep of commercial disaster
was broken up. and fore and aft and
across the hurricane deck the waves
struck him. But he was safely sheltered
from the storm THE Lord shut him
inl" A food Of domestic troubles fell
on him." Sickness and bereavement
came The rain pelted; the winds blew.
The heavens are aflame. All tho gar
dens of earthly delight are washed
away. The mountains of joy are buried
Is cubits deep But. standing by the
empty crib and in the desolated nursery
and in the doleful hall, once airing with
merry voices, now silent forever. he
cried, The Lord gave. the Lord hath
taken away; blessed be the name Of the
Lord. " THE Lord shut him in.
All the sins of a lifetime clamored for
his overthrow. The broken vows, the
dishonored Sabbaths. the outrageous pro-
families, the misdemeanors Of 90 years,
reached up their hands to the door Of
the ark 10 pull him out The boundless
ocean Of his sin surrounded his soul,
bowling like n simoom, raving like an
euroclydon. But. looking out of the win.
dow, he saw his sin sink like lead into
the depths Of the sea The dove Of heav-
en- brought an olive branch to the ark.
Tho wrath Of the billow only pushed
him toward heaven. The Lord shut
him inp'
The Heavenly House.
The Same door fastenings that kept
Noah in keep the troubles out I am
glad to know that when a man reaches
heaven all earthly troubles are done
with him. Here he may have had it hard
to get bread for his family; there he will
never hunger any more. Here he may
have wept bitterly; there 1.-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 havo hard
work to get house; but in my Father q
house are many mansions, and rent day
never comes. Here there are deathbeds
and collins and graves; there no sickness,
no weary watching, no choking cough.
no consuming fever, no chattering chill,
no tolling bell. no grave The sorrows
Of life shall come up and knock ut the
door, but no admittance. The perplexi-
ties of life shall come up and knock on
the door, hut no admittance. Safe for.
everl 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
seasl Tho Lord-''the Lord shut him
inp'
Oh, what a grand old doorl 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 n
crazy craft with leaking hulk and broken
helm and unfastened door, but an ark
so cubits wide and 800 cubits long and
door so largo that the round earth,
without grazing the post. might be bowl
ed in.
Now, IL the ark Of Christ is so grand
a place in which TO live and die and tri-
umph, como into the ark. Know we'll
that the door that shut Noah in shut
others out. and though. when the pitiless
storm came pelting ON their heads. they
beat upon the door. saying: Let me ini
Let me inr' the door did not open. For
100 years they were invited. They ex-
pected to como in. but the antediluvians
said: I'VE must cultivate these fields;
we must be worth more fiocks Of sheep
and herds of cattle: we will wait until
we get little older; we will enjoy our
old farm n little longer. But mean
while the storm was brewing. The foun-
tains Of heaven were filling up. The pry
was being placed beneath the founda-
tions Of the great deep The last year
had come. the last month, the last week.
the last day. the last hour. the last mo.
ment In an awful dash an ocean drop
ped from the sky and another rolled NJ
from beneath, and God rolled the earth
and sky into one wave of universal de
struction.
Outside the Ark.
So men now put OFF going into tn,
ark. They say they will wait 90 year.
first. They will have a little longer time
with their worldly associates. They will
wait until they get older They say
"You cannot expect man of my at
tainmonts and of my position to sur
render myself just now. But before the
storm comes will in. Yes, will.
know what am about. Trust met Aft
er awhile. one night about l2 O'Clock,
going home, no passes n scaffolding jus,
as n gust of wind strikes il, and plani
falls Dead, and outside the ark! Or
riding in the park. reckless vehicl,
crashes into him, and his horse become,
unmanagcable. and he shouts, whoa,
whoa!' and takes another twist in the
reins and plants his feet against tn,
dashboard and pulls back. But no use.
Il is not so much down the avenue thai
no flies as on the way TO eternity. Out
Of tho wreck of the crash his body il
drawn. but his soul is not picked up. Il
fed behind q swifter courser into tn,
great future. Dead, and outside the ark
Or some night he wakes up with dis
tress that momentarily increases unit
he shrieks ont with pain. The doctor
come in. and they give him 90 drops, bu
no relief; 40 drops, 30 drops, GO drops
but no relief. No time for prayer. NJ
time TO read one Of the promises Ne
time to get single sin pardoned. Tn,
whole house is aroused in alarm. TIL,
children scream. The wife faints. TIL,
pulses fail. The heart stops The son
flies. Dead. and outside the ark.
have no doubt that derision kept
many people out of the ark The worlt
laughed TO SEQ man go In and said
Here is n man starting for the ark
Why, there will be no deluge. II Their,
is one, that miserable ship will mo-
weather it. Aha. going into the ark
Well. that is too good to keep. Here
fellows, have you heard the news? Thi
man is going into the ark" Under thi
artillery Of scorn the mans good resolu
tion persisted.