Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1896-06-24

u6uaI 1uXtapOS1t1On OF WORDS. VnomaS dOOO
and Charles Lamb and Sidney Smith had .
divine mission, and so have their Successors
In these times. They sir into the acid bev.
erage Of life the saccharine. They mako tho
cup OF earthly existence. which Is sometimes
stale, effervesce and bubble. They placats
ahlmosities. They foster longevity. They
elay folIies and absurdities which all the SER
mons of all the pulpits cannot reach.
They have for examples Elijah, who made
Yum OF the Baaiites when they called down
llre, and II did not come, suggesting thnt
their heathen god had gone hunting. or was
but vociferation could wake him, saying.
l''Cry aloud for he is god. Either he Ia
talking or pursuing or peradvsnture he
sleepeth and must be awaked." They have
an example In Christ. who with healthful
sarcasm showed up tho lying, hypocriticat
people like themselves needed no improve
Iments, saying. '"rbe whole need not q ply
lsician but they that are sick"
But what use are you making Of your wit?
rs II besmirched with profanity and unclean-
|ness2 Do you employ 1t in amusement at
mot responsible? Are your powers Of MIN
tcry used to put religion in contempt? Is II
"a bunch of nettlesome invective2 Isit bolt
'Of unjust scorn? Is It fun at others misfOr-
tuner Is 1t glee at their disappointment and
defeat2 Is It bitterness put drop by drop
into cupY Is It like the Squeezing OF Ar
temisia absinthium into . draught al
ready pungant2 Then you are the star
lWormvood. Yours is the fun Of q rattle
snake trying how well 1t can sting. 1t is the
fun OF hawk trying how quickly II can
strike out the eye OF dove.
But I will change this and suppose you are
e star Of Worldly Prosperity. Then you
that artist by buying his picture. You can
improve the fields, the stables. the highway,
by introducing higher style OF fowl AMI
horse and COW and sheep. You can bless the
world with pomological achievement In the
orchards. You can advance arborcultura
and arrest this deathful iconoclasm OF the
American forests. You can put piece OF
sculpture into tho niche OF that public
academy. You can endow college. You
can stocking a thousand bare feet from the
winter frost. You can build a church. You
can put missionary of Christ on that
foreign shore. You can help ransom world.
A rich man with his heart right-can you
tell me how much good James LenOx or a
George Peabody or Peter Cooper or
William e. Dodge did while living, or Is
doing now that he is dead? There Is not
city, town or neighborhood that has not
glorious specimens of consecrated wealth,
But suppose you grind the face OF the
poor. Suppose when a mans wages are due
you make him wait for them because he cani
not help himself Suppose that, because his
family is sick and he has had extra expenses,
he should politely ask you to raise his wages
for this year and you roughly tell him II he
wants a better place 20 go and get 1t. Sup
pose by your manner you act as though he
were nothing and you were everything. Sup
pose you are selfish and overbearing and ar
rogant. Your first name ought to be Attila
and your last name Attila, because you are
the star Wormwood, and you have imblrtered
one-third if not three-thirds of the waters
haf roll r. m pron nlnvt,a and nnarafiyffl
and dependents and associates, and the long
limo of carriages which the undertaken orders
for your funeral, In order to make the Occa-
sion respectable, will be filled with twice as
many dry, fearless eyes as there are persons
occupying them.
There is an erroneous idea abroad that
there arc only n few geniuses. There are
millions OF them-that is, men and women
who have especial adaptation and quickness
for some one thing. 1t may be great; 1t may
be small. The circle may be like the circum-
ference of the earth or no larger than II thim-
BILE. There arc thousands OF geniusee. and
In some ono thing you arc star. What
kind OF star are you? You will be In this
world but few minuies. As compared with
eternity tho stay Of the longest life on earth
Ia not more than minute What are we
doing with that minute? Are we imbHtering
the domestic or social or political fountains,
or are we like Moses, who, when the lsraelites
in the wilderness complained that the waters
Of Lake Marah were bitter and they could
not drink them, cut of the branch Of a GER
tain tree and threw that branch into the
water, and 1t became sweet and slakei the
Thirst of the suffering host? Arc We with a
branch OF the Tree OF Life sweetening ali the
brackish fountains that we can touch?
Dear Lord, send us all out on that mission.
All around us imbittered lives-imbit.
tered by prosecution, imbittered by hyper
criticism, imbittered by poverty, I'm
hxy nosp Sv,hi hsy iui, OF
imbittered by sin. Why not go forth and
sweeten them by smile, by inspiring words.
by benefactiOns, by hearty counsel, by prayer
by gospelized behavior Let US remember
that II we are wOrmwO0d to others we are
wormwood to ourselves. and our life will be
bitter and our eternity bitterer. The gospel
Of Jesus Christ is the only sweetening power
that is sufficient. 1t sweetens the disposi-
tion. 1t sweetens the manners. L. sweetens
life. It sweetens mysterious providences.
II sweetens Affections. 1t sweetens death
1t sweetens everything. have heard peO.
pie asked in social company. IF you could
have three wishes gratifled what would your
thres wishes be?" II 1 could have thrcs
wishes met this morning. 1 tell you what
they would be: /. More of the grare Of God
2. More of the grace of God. 3. More Of The
grace of God. In the dooryard OF my
brother John, missionary in Annoy. China
there Was n tree called the emperor tree. the
two characteristics of which are that It nj
ways grows higher than its surround
| inSs, and its leaves take the form OF q
| crown. II this emperor tree be planted
| by a rOsebush, ii grows n little higher
| than the bush and spreads out above 1t q
| crown. II 1t be planted by the side of an.
| other tree, il grows little higher than that
| tree and spreads above it a crown. Would
! God that this religion of Christ, a more Won
| derful emperor tree, might overshadOw al
your lives! Are you lOwiy In ambition OF
circumstance. putting over you Its crown?
Are you high in talent and position, putting
over you its crown? Oh, for more of tn,
saccharine in our lives and less of the worm
wood!
What Is true of individuals is true OF ma
tiOns. God sets them uptO reyolve rs stars
but they may fall wormwood.
| Tyre, the atmosphere OF the desert, fra
grant with spices, coming in caravans TO he
fairs, all seas cleft into foam by the keels o
her laden merchant men, her markets rici
| with horses and cnues from TOgarmah, he
bazaars filled with upholstery from Dedan
with emerald and coral and agate from
Syria, with wines from He.bon, with en-
broidered work from A-hur and Chiimad
Where now the CLEAN of her towers, wher
the roar of her chariotS, where the mistS @
her ships? Let the fishermen who dry thei
nets VIII re once she stood, LET the sea tina
rushes upon the barrenness where once sh
challenged the admiration of nj! nations, Il
where once her palaces gittered, answt
the question. She was star. but 10y h'
own SIN turned to wormwooi ami has taller
Hundred gated Thebes, for all time to !
the study of the antiquarian and hieroS',
phist, her stupenious ruins sprea over
mites. her s.ulp,nrns presenting In hcures
warrior and chariot the victories with wh.e
she now forgotten kings OF Egypt shook u
nations. her obeiisks and columns. Cs'h' y
and Luxor. the stupendous temples OF b
pride! Who can imagine the greatness
Thebes in those davs when the hippodron
rang with her sports and foreign royaI
bowed Mt her shrine AMI her avenues roar,
with the wheels Of professions in the wal
of returning conquerors? What dasn
down the vision of chariots and temples a.
, thrones? What hands pulled upon q
columns OF her glory? What ruthiessne
;defaced her sculptured wall and broke OF
l,sks and left her indescrihabie temples gre
skeletons of granite? What spirit OF q
struction spread the lair OF Wild beasts
| Ia r-1n nd trn nyh