Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1896-01-24


be was to your happiness, and that in
some plain, square talk long ago you did
not ask for forgiveness for infrmities
and neglects, and by some unlimited ut
terance make it understood that you
fully appreciated the fidelity and re-en-
forcement Of many years. Alas, how
many such have to lament the rest Of
their lives, "Oh, if l had only said sou
Let the Redeemed Say So.
Ny subject takes a wider range The
Lord has hundreds Of thousands Of peo-
pie among those who have never joined
his army because Of some high ideal Of
what a Christian should be or because
Of fear that they may not hold out or
because Of q spirit Of procrastination.
They have never publicly professed
Christ They have az much right TO the
sacraments and as much right to all the
privileges Of the church as thousands
who have for years been enrolled in
church membership, and yet they have
made no positive utterance by which the
world may know they love God and are
on the road to heaven. They are re-
deemed of the Lord and yet do not say
so. Oh, what an augmentation it would
be if by some divine impulse all those
outsiders should become insiders. tell
you what would bring them TO their
right places, and perhaps nothing else
will-days Of persecution. If they were
compelled to take sides as between
Christ and his enemies, they would take
the side Of Christ, and the fagots and
the instruments Of torture and the anath-
emas Of all earth and hell would not
make them blanch. Martyrs are made
out Of such stuff as they are. But let
them not wait for such days as pray
to God may never come. Drawn by the
sense Of fairness and justice and obliga-
tion, let them show their colors. Let the
redeemed of the Lord say so.
This chapter from which l take NY
text mentions several classes Of persons
who ought to be outspoken, among
them all those who go on a journey.
What an opportunity you have, you who
spend so much Of your time Oh rail trains
or on shipboard, whether on lake or
river or seal Spread the story Of Gods
goodness and your own redemption
wherever you 90. You will have many
q long ride beside some one whom you
will never see again, some one who is
waiting for one word Of rescue or con-
ISOLATION. Make every rail train and
steamer a moving palace Of saved souls.
Casual conversations have harvested a
great host for God.
There are many Christian workers in
pulpits, in mission stations, in Sabbath
schools, in unheard Of places who are do
ing their best for God and without any
recognition. They 90 and come, and no
one cheers them. Perhaps all the reward
they get is harsh criticism, or repulse,
or their own fatigue If you have ever
heard Of any good they have done, let
them know about it. If you find some
one benefited by their aims, or their
prayers, or their cheering word, 60 and
tell them. They may be almost ready to
give MP their mission. They may be al
most in despair because Of the seeming
lack Of results. Cne word from you may
be an ordination that will start them on
the chief work IF their lifetime. A
Christian woman said to her pastor:
"My usefulness is done. i 10 not know
why my life is spared any longer, be-
cause can do no good. Then the pas
tor replied, "You do me great good ey-
erv Sabbath " She asked, How do do
YOU any good?" and he replied, In the
first place, you are always in your seat
in the church, and that helps me, and IN
the second place you are always wide
awake and alert, looking right up into
my face, and that helps me, and in the
third place l often see tears running
down your cheeks, and that helps me. "
What a good thing he did not wait until
she was dead before he said so!
Why No; Bestow Praise?
There are hundreds Of ministers who
have hard work TO make sermons be-
cause no one expresses any appreciation.
They are afraid of making him vain.
The moment the benediction is pro-
nounced they turn on their heels and 90
out. Perhaps it was a subject On which
he had put especial pains. He sought for
the right text, and then did his best to
mt the old thought into some new shape.
He had prayed that it might 60 to the
hearts Ct the people. He had added to
the argument the most vivid illustra-
tions he could think Of. He had deliver
ed all with power that left him nery-
ously exhausted. Five hundred people
may have been blessed by it and resolved
upon a higher life and nobler purposes.
Yet all he hears is the clank Of the pew
door. or the shuffling Of feet in the
aisle. or some remark about the weather,
the last resort Of inanity. Why did not
that man come up and say frankly,
"You have done me good?' Why DID
not some woman come up and say, Il
shall 90 home to take up the burden OF
life more cheerfully?" Why did not
some professional man come up and say
"Thank you, dominic, for that good ad-
viceg | will take it. God bless you.
Why did they not tell him sol have
known ministers, in the nervous reac-
tion that comes to some after the de-
livery of sermon with no seeming re-
suit, to go home aad roll on the ficor IN
agony.
But to make up for this lack Of out
spoken religion there. needs 10 be ard
will be q great day when, amid the So
lemnities and grandeurs Of a listening
universe, God will "say So. F" No statis'
tics can state how many mothers have
rocked cradles and lowered over infan'
tile sicknesses and brought up their
families TO manhood aud womanhood
and launched them upon useful and sue
cessful lives, and yet never received one
"Thank you" that amounted to ary-
thing. The daughters became queens IN
social life OF were aflianced In highest
realms of prosperity; the sons took the
first honors of the university and became
radiant in monetary or professional
spheres Now tho secret Of all that up
lifted maternal influence must come out.
Society did not say so; the church did
not say so; the world did not say 20, but
- ~ Let