Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1896-11-06


taoth ond the horses are hitchad to II, y
goes tearing and leaping across tne In'u.
driving the seed down into the EARN un'n
enrinos ND In the harvest. bereavement,
sorrow persecution ara the LORDS harIowe
70 sink The Gospel truth IN your noa.,
Thece were truths that you heard tnnsS
wears ago: they have not affected you unsu
Recently. Some great trouble came over you,
and fine truth was narrowed IN, ana IL naS
coma nm What did God mean In this conp'
frv in 1852 Fora century there was the uos,
mel preached, but great deal OF 1t proouc9e1a
no result. Then God harnesseu WV
panic to O harrow OF commercial vus'suid
and that harrow went down wan elreet, ano
no Wall street, down Third street, ahg ~
Third street. down State street, ana up 3'ase
street down Pennsylvania avenue, an1 W
Pennsylvania avenue, until the wnole 'anu
was torn to pieces as 1t had never been PEI
fore. What followed the harrow A greas
awakening in which there were oOo,Voy
souls brought into the Kingdom OF
our Lord. No harrow. no CROP =.
Again, I remark, in grace as In the farm
there must be reaping. Many Cnrlstlane
speak Of religion as though It were matter
OF economics or insurance. They expect TO
reapin the next world. Oh no! Now Is the
time to reap. Gather up the Joy OF the
Christian religion this morning, this after
noon. this night II you have not as much
grace as YOU would Ike to have. thank GOD
for what you have, and pray for more Eov
are no worse ensaved than Joseph, no worse
troubled than was David, no worse scourgeq9
than was Paul Yet, amid the rafting OF
letters and amid the gloom OF dungeons, ana
amid the horror OF shipwrecK, tney
triumphed In the grace OF God. Inc weaKess
Ii fn-dQ acres
spiritual ioy all ripe. Why do you not go
and reap its You have been grooming over
your lnArmities for thirty years. NOW give
one roSnd shout over your emancipation.
You say you have it so hard; you might nave
il worse. You wonder why this great COLO
trouble keeps revolving through your SOUL
turning and turning with a black hand on
the crank. Alb, that trouble is the GRIND,
stone on which you ara 10 sharpen your
sickle. To the fields! Wake up! Take on
vonr Green spectacles. your blue spectacle5,
your Rlaek spectacies. Pull up the corners
of YOUR mouth as far as you pull them GOWN
TO the fields! Reap. reap!
Again. remark. in grace as In farming,
there is a time for threshing. tell you
bluntly that is death. Just as the farmer
with fail beats the wheat out o. the straw,
go death beats the soul out OF the pooy.
Every sickness Is stoke OF the nal1, anu .ne
sick-bed IL the tbresbing floor. What, say
Won IL death to q good man only taking the
wheat ont of the straw? That is all. An
AGED man hes fallen asleep. Only yesterday
Won saw him in the sunny porch playing
yyith his grandchildren. Calmly be received
the MESSAGE to leave this world. He babe
nleasant good-bye to his old frlends' Inc
telegraph carries the tidlngs, and on swilt
rail trains the kindred come, wanting once
mora TO look on the face OF dear old grano'
father. Brush back the gray hairs from MS
brow; it will never ache again, Pgt MN nm
awav in the slumber Of the tomb. DE VIII
not be afraid OF that night Grandfather was
never afraid of anything. He will rise IN
tSo urornin0 of the resurrection. Grandfath-
| ar was ALWAYS the first to rise. His voice has
already mingled in the doxology OF Heaven.
| Grandfather always did sing In church.
ANYTHING CHASTITY in that? No. The thresh-
| inc of the wheat out OF the straw. Tnas Is
The Saviour folds lamb In His bosom.
| The little child filed all the house With her
music. and her toys are scattered all up ana
! down the stairs just as she left them. Wnat
| If the hand that plucked four-o'c CLOCKS OUT
| of the meadow Is still? II Will wave IN tns
| eternal triumph. What II the voice Una.
| roade music In the home Is stilf 1t will sing
the eternal hosanna. Put white rose in one
hand a red rose in the other hand, and q
wrath of orange blossoms on the brow; the
white flower for the victory, the red hover
| for the Sayiour's sacrifice, the orange plos'
SONS for her marriage day. Anything ghast'
| " abont that2 Oh, no! The sun went down
| and the flower shut The wheat threshed
ont NJ tbe straw. "Dear Lord, give me
sleep" said dying boy, the son OF one 9,
nv elders, "dear Lord, give me sleep.
| And he closed his eyes and awoke IN glory;
Henry W. Longfellow, writing ieITer o.
confidence to those parents, seid, 1nos3
last words were beautifully poetic. A no
NJ T'on9fellow knew what Is poetic. "Deal
| Lord, give me sleep"
Twas not in cruelty, not IN wrath
That the reaper came that DAY;
twas an angel that visited the eartn
And took the flower away.
40 It may be with US when our work Is al
| done "Dear Lord, give me- sleep"
I have ono more thought to present.
have spoken OF the blowing, OF the sowing
IF the narrowing, OF The reaping, OF the
threshinp. 1 must now speak moment O
she garnering. u 1850,
Oh no. So many have gone out from your
own circles-yea, from your own family
that YOU have had your eyes on that garner
for many year. What hard time some
of them hadl In Gethsemanes OF suffering
they sweat great drops OF blood. They
look the 'cup OF trembling" and they pul
it to their hot lips and they cried, III Il %
possible. let this cup pass from me-" Witt
+onones of burning agony they cried, &c
Tor1 deliver my SOUL" But they got ovel
If. They all got over it. Garnered! Theai
tears wiped away; their battles all ended
their burdens lifted Garnered! The Lore
of fine harvest will not allow those sheave:
TO perish in the equinox. Garneredl Some
of us remember, on the farm, that thu
sheayes were put on the top OF the rack
which surmountei the wagon, and these
sheaves we're piled higher and higher, ant
after while the horses started for the barn
and these sheaves swayed to and fro IN tn
wind. aud the old wagon creaked, and tht
horses made struggle, and pulled so hare
the harness came up IN loops OF leatner OF
on their backs, and when the front whee
strnck rhe elevated door of the barn
seemed as il the load would go no father
until the workmen gave great shout. AM
then with one last tremendous sh ain, tn
horses pulled in the load; they were unhar
messed. and forkful after forkful OF grail
fell into the NOV. Oh, my friends, our get
| fling TO heaven may be pull, a hard pull,
very hard pull; but these sheaves are boun
TO 90 In, The Lord OF the harvest has prom
ised il. l see tho load at last coming t
the door of the heavenly garner. TIL
sheayes of the Christian soul sway to and fr
in the wind OF death, and the old body creak
under the load, and as the load strikes th
floor Of the celestial garner. it seems as II
can 60 no farther 1t is the last struggle
until the voices Of angels and the voices Q
our departed kindred and the welcomin
voice Of God shall send the harvest rolhn
into the eternal triumph, while all up an
down the sky the cry Is hearo; 'harVeS
home! harvest home!"