Connecticut western news., 1896-01-02


 Your common sense tells you that you will soon cease worldly business. You know very well that you will soon pass out of that partnership. You know that, beyond certain point, of all the mil lions of dollars worth of goods sold you will not handle yard of cloth, or pound of sugar, or 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 ab- 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 gravel Have you made any purchases for eternity? Have you any securities that will last forever9 Are you jobbing for time when you might be wholesal ing for eternity? Is there any question so broad at the base, 80 altitudinous, so overshadowing as the question. What must I do to be saved?" Or, is it do- mestic question, is it something about father or mother or husband or wife or son or daughter that is the more impor- tant question? You know by universal and inexorable law that relation will soon be broken up. Father will be gone, mother will be gone. children will be gone, you will be gone. but after that the question of the text will begin to harvest it's chief gains or deplore its worst losses or roll up It's mightiest magnitude or sweep It's vaster circles.
 What Difference Doos It Make? a. Oh, what a question, what an impor- tant question: Is there any question that compares with 1t in innpOrtance2 What is it now to Napoleon III whether he triumphed or surrendered at Sedan. whether he died at the Tuileries. or exi1e?, Because he was laid out in the coffin in the dress of field marshal. did that give him any better chance for the future than if he had been laid out in plain shroud? What difference will | 1t soon make to you or to me whether in | this world we walked or rode, whether | we were bowed to or maltreated, wheth- or we were applauded or missed at, wei 1 comed in or kicked outf While laying | hold of every moment of the future and burning in every splendor or every grief and overarohing JOE undergirding all | time and all eternity will be the plain, startling. infinite. stupendous question | of the text, "What must I do to be | saved?"
 Again. II 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- tentiary, his occupation was gone. Be. sides that the flight of-a prisonsr was ordinarily the death of the jailer. He was held responsible. If all had gone well. if the prison wal1s had not been shaken, of the earthquake, if the prison CTS had all staid quiet in the stocks. if the morning sunlight had calmly drop ped on the jailer's pillows do you think I he would have hurled this redhot ques- tiop from his soul into the ear of his apostolic prisoners? An, no. You know as well as l do 1t was the earthquake that reused him up. And it is trouble | that starts great many people to ask ing the same question. It has been so with multitude of you. Your apparel is not as bright as 1t once was. Why have you changed the garb? Do you not like solferino and crimson and purple as well as once? Yes. But you say: While I was prospered and happy those colors were accordant with my feelings. Now they would be disoord to my soul 1" And SO you have plaited up the shadows into your apparel. The world is a very differ I ent place from what it wss once for youi Once you said, "Oh. if I could only have it quiet little while" It is too quiet. IiA o 5ec ,s-4 ..- <! 7
 Some people say that they would not bring, back their departed friends from heaven even if they had < the .opportu nifty, but if you had the opportunity you would bring back your loved ones, and soon their feet would be sounding in the hall, and soon their voices would be heard in the family, and the old times would come back just as the fiesta, days of Christmas And Thanksgiving-~daya gone forever. Oh. It. is the earthquake that startled you to asking this question the earthquake of domestic misfor. tune. Death is so cruel, sodevouring, SC relentless, that when it swallows up pul loved ones we must have Sspne enc tc l whom we can carry our torn and bleed ing hearts. We need a balsam better than anything that ever exuded from earthly tree to heal the pang of the soul. It is pleasant to have our friends gather around us and tell us how sorry they are, and try to break up the loneliness, but nothing but tho hand of Jesus Christ can take the bruised soul and. put 1t in. his bosom, hushing it with the lullaby oi heaven. O bsother 0 sister The grave stone will never .be lifted from you, heart .until Christ hftsit. Was t mo, the loss of you friends, or the persecu
 tion of your enemies, or the overthrow of your worldly estate-was 1t not ar earthquake that started you out to asl this stupendous question of my textf
 Make 1t an Urpent Question.
 Il But remark again, characterize this question, of the agitated jail keeper as haaty, urgent and immediate. He pu
 it on the run. By the light of his torci as he goes to look for the apostles, be hold his face, see the startled look ant see the earnestness. No one can doub
 by that look that the man is in earnest He must have that question answered. be fore the earth stops rocking, or perhap
 he will never have it answered at all. l
 that the way. my brother. my sister, .yo' } are. putting this question? Is 1t on tn e run? Is it nasty? Is it urgent? Is tim
 mediate2 If 1t is not, it will not be an
 swered. That is the only kind of ques
 tion that is answered. It is the urgen
 and Immediate question of the gospe
 Christ answers. A great. many are ask
 ing this question, but they drawl it out }. and there is indifference in their man
 her, as if they do not mean it. Make it al
 urgent question and then you will hay
 1t answered before an hour passes, befor
 a minute passes. When man with, al
 the earnestness of his soul cries out flo God, he finds him, and finds him righ