Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1895-12-30

| dering thoughts, disappear today! Blot
out this entire audience except yourself
Your sin, is it pardoned? Your death,
is it provided for? Your heaven, is it
secured? A migbtier earthquake than
shat which demolished the Philippian
penitentiary will rumble about your
ears. The foundations of the earth will
! give way. The earth by one tremor will
fling all the American cities into the
dust Cathedrals and palaces and pris-
ons which have stood for thousands Of
years will topple like child's block
| house. The surges of the sea will sub
merge the land and the Atlantic and
Pacific oceans above the Alps and the
Andes clap their hands. What then will
become of me? What then will become
of you? [ do not wonder at the anxiety
OF this man Of my text, for he was not
only anxious about the falling of the
prison, but the falling of world
Invest In Eternal Securities.
Again, [ remark, I characterize this
question of the agitated Jail keeper as
one of Incompatible Importance Men
are alike, and I suppose he had scores of
questions on his mind, but all questions
for this world are hushed up, forgotten,
text, fWhat must I do to be saved ?'
And have you, my brother, any ques
tlOn of Importance compared with that
question? Is it question of business?
Your common sense tells you that you
will soon cease worldly business. You
know very we'll that you will soon pass
out of that partnership. You know that,
beyond a certain point, of all the mil
lions of dollars worth of goods sold
you will not handle a yard of cloth, or
pound of sugar, or a penny's worth.
After that, if a cOnfagratiOn should
sweep all Washington into ashes, it
would not touch you, and would not
damage you. If every cashier should alb
scond and every bank suspend payment
and every insurance company fail, it
would not affect you. Oh, how insig-
nifcant is business this side the grave
with business on the other side the
grave! Have you made any purchases
for eternity? Have you any securities
that will last forever? Are you jobbing
for time when you might be whOlesa1-
ing for eternity? Is there any question
SO broad at the base, SO altitudinous, SO
overshadowing as the question, "What
must I do to be saved?'' Or, is it do
nestle question, is it something about
father or mother or husband or wife OF
son or daughter that is the more lmpOr-
tant question? You know by universal
and memorable law that relation will
soon be broken up. Father Will be gone,
mother will be gone, children Will bo
gone, you will be gone, but after that
the question of the text will begin to
tic chief crainc or HnD1Orn 1fC
worst losses or roll up it's mightiest
magnitude or sweep its vaster circles.
What Difference Does 1t Make?
Oh what a question, what an impor-
tant question Is there any question
that compares with it in Importance?
What is it now to Napoleon III whether
he triumphed CT surrendered at Sedan,
whether he died at the Tuileries OF
Chiselhurst, whether he was emperor OF
exile? Because he was laid out in tho
coffin in the dress of a field marshal, |
did that give him any better chance for
the future than if he had been laid out
in a plain shroud? What difference will |
it soon make to you or to me whether in |
this world we walked or rode, whether
we were bowed to OF maltreated, wheth-
er we were applauded or Kissed at, well
coined in or kicked out: While laying
hold of every moment of the future and |
burning in every splendor or every grief |
and Overarching or undergirding all |
time and all eternity will be the plain, |
startling, infinite, stupendous question
of the text, ''What must [ do to be |
saved?"
Again, I characterize this question Of
the agitated jail keeper as one crushed |
out by his misfortunes, pressed out by |
his misfortunes The falling of the peni-
Tertiary, his occupation was gone. Be |
sides that the flight of a prisoner was
ordinarily the death Of the jailer He |
was held responsible. If all had gone
we'll, if the prison walls had not been
shaken of the earthquake, if the prison
ers had all staid quiet in the stocks, if |
the morning sunlight had calmly drop |
ped on the jailer's pillow, do you think
he would have hurled this redhCt Ques-
ton from his soul into the ear of his i
apostolic prisoners? All, no. You know
as we'll as I do it was the earthquake |
that reused him up. And it is trouble
that starts a great many people to ask
ing the same question. 1t has been SO
with multitude of you. Your apparel
is not as bright as it once was. Why |
have you changed the garb? DO you not |
like solferino and crimson and purple as
we'll as once? Yes. But you say: "While |
I was prospered and happy those colors
were accordant with my feelings. Now
they would be discord to my soul. " And
SO you have plated up the shadows into
your apparel. The world is very differ
ent place from what it was once for
fGOb If T III |
only have it quiet little while" 1t is
too quiet.
Some people say that they would not