The Monitor-register., 1896-09-11

washington irving was dead they found
little box that contained a braid Of
halr and Il miniature and the name of
Matilda Hoffman and a memorandum
OF her death and a remark something
like this: "The world after that was a
blank to me. l went into the country,
put found no peace in solitude. I tried
to get into society, but l found no peace
III society. There has been a horror
hanging over me by night and by day,
and | am afraid to be alone"
How many unuttered troubles among
you! No human ear has ever heard that
sorrow. Oh, troubled soul, | want to
tell you that there is one salve that can
cure the Wounds of the heart, and that
is the salve made out Of the tears of a
| sympathetic Jesus! And yet some of
you will not take this solace, and you
Try chloral, and you try morphine, and
you try strong drink, and you try change
OF scene, and you try new business as
soclatlons, and anything and everything
rather than to take the divine compan-
lonship and sympathy suggested by the
words of my text when it says, "You
shall not see my face again unless your
brother be with you" Oh, that this au-
dlence today might understand some
thing OF the height and depth and length
and breadth and immensely and infinity
of Gods eternal consultations!
An Element of Failure.
L go farther and find in my subject q
hint as to why so many people fail of
heaven. We are told that heaven has IL
gates, and some people infer from that
fact that all the people will go in with
out reference to their past life. But what
Is the use of having a gate that is not
sometimes to be shut? The swinging of
a gate implies that our entrance into
heaven is conditional. 1t is not none
tary condition. If we come to the door
OF an exquisite concert, we are not sur
prlsed that we must pay a fee, for We
l:now that fine earthly music is expen-
eve. But all the oratorios of heaven cost
nothing. Heaven pays nothing for it's
music. 1t is all free. There is nothing
to be paid at that door for entrance, but
the condition of getting into heaven is
cur bringing our divine Benjamin along
with us. Dc you notice how often dying
people call upon Jesus? 1t is the usual
prayer offered-the prayer offered more
than all the other prayers put together
Lord Jesus, receive my spirit"
One OF our congregation, when asked
in the closing moments of his life, "Do
you know us?" said; "Oh, yes, 1 know
you. God bless you. Goodby! Lord
Jesus, receive my spirit" And he was
gone. Oh, yes, in the closing moments of
our life We must have a Christ to call
upon. If Jacobs sons had gone ND to-
ward Egypt and had gone with the very
finest equipage and had not taken Ben
Jamln along with them, and to the
question they should have been obliged
to answer: "Sir, we didn't bring him
as father could not let him go; we
didn't want to be bothered with him."
a voice from within would have said:
60 away from us. You shall not have
any of this supply. You shall not see
my face because your brother is not
with you" And if we come up toward
the door of heaven at last, though we
come from all luxuriance and brilliancy
of surroundings and knock for admit
tance and it is found that Christ is not
with us, the police of heaven will beat
us back from the breadhouse, saying:
Depart. l never knew you"
The Key to Success.
Ii Jacobs SONS, coming toward Egypt,
had lost everything on the way, if they
had expended their last shekel, if they
had come up utterly exhausted to the
corncribs of Egypt and it had been
found that Benjamin was with them,
all the s%torehouses would have swung
open before them. And SO, though by
fatal casualty we may be ushered into
the eternal world; though we may be
weak and exhausted by protracted sick
ness-if, in that last moment, we can
only just stagger and faint and fall into
the gate of heaven-it seems that all the
corncribs of heaven will open for our
need and all the palaces will open for
our reception, and the Lord of that
| place, seated at his table, and all the
angels of God seated at their table, and
the martyrs seated at their table, and
all our glorified kindred seated at our
table, the King shall pass a portion from
his table to ours, and then, while we
| think of the fact that it was Jesus who
| started us ON the road, and Jesus who
| kept us on the way, and Jesus who at
last gained admittance for our soul, we
shall be glad if he has seen of the travail
of his soul and been satisfied, and not
be at all jealous if it be found that our
divine Benjamin's mess is five times
larger than all the rest. Hail, anointed
of the Lord! Thou art worthy.
My friends, you see it is either Christ
or famine. If there were two banquets
spread, and to Il of them only you
might go, you might stand and think
for a good while as to which invitation
you had better accept, but here it is
feasting or starvation. If there were
two mansions offered and you might
have only one, you might think for a
long while, saying, perhaps 1 had bet
| ter accept this gift, and perhaps I had
better accept that gift" but here it is a
choice between palaces of light and
| novels of despair. If it were a choice
between ~oratorios, you might say, Il
prefer the Creation, ," or, 81 prefer
the Messiah. But here it is a choice
| between eternal harmony and everlast-
ing discord. Oh, will you live or die?
| Will you sail into the harbor or drive
on the rocks? Will you start for the
| Egyptian corncrib, or will you perish
amid the empty barns of the Canaanitish
famine?
SOWING a Problem.
A German professor WAS remarkably