The Yale expositor. (Yale, St. Clair County, Mich.) 1894-current, 1896-08-07
G-THIG


and broken heart they pass on their
way, Stranger accosts them. They
tell him their anXieties and bitterness
of soul. He in turn talks to them,
nightly expounding the Scriptures.
He throws over them the fascination OF
intelligent conversation. They forget
the time, and notice not the objects
they pass, and before they are aware,
have come up in front OF their house.
They pause before the entrance and at
tempt to persuade the stranger to tarry
with them. They press upon him their
hospitalities. Night is coming on, and
he may meet proving wild beast, or
be obliged to lie unsheltered from the
dew. He cannot go much further now.
Why not stop there, and continue their
pleasant conversation? They take him
by the arm and they insist upon his
coming in. addressing him in the
words: abide with us, for it is to-
ward evening""
The candles are lighted, the table is
spread, pleasant socialities are en-
kindled. They rejoice in the presence
of the stranger guest. He asks bless
ing upon the bread they eat, and he
hands piece of it to each. Suddenly
| and with overwhelming power the
| thought flashes upon the astonished
] people-it is the Lord! And as they sit
in breathless wonder, looking upon the
resurrected body of Jesus, he vanished
! ho iv,tn fau IL
With many of us it is a bright, sun
shiny day of prosperity. There is not
a cloud in the sky, not leaf rustling
in the forest. No chill in the air. But
! we cannot expect all this to last. He
is not an intelligent man who expects
perpetual daylight OF joy. The sun will
after awhile near the horizon. The
shadows will lengthen. While speak,
many Of us stand in the very hour
described in the text, "for it is toward
evening" The request of the text is
appropriate for some before me. For
with them it is toward the evning of
old age. They have passed the merid-
ian of life. They are sometimes startled
to think how old they are. They do
not, however, like to have others re-
mark upon it. If others suggest their
approximation toward venerable ap-
pearance, they say, why, I'm not so
old, after ALL" They do, indeed no
tice that they cannot lift quite so much
as once. They cannot read quite so
we'll without spectacles. They cannot
so easily recover from cough or any
occasional ailment. They have lost
their taste for merriment. They are
surprised at the quick passage of the
year. They say that it only seems a
little while ago that they were boys
They are going little down hill. There
is something in their health, something
in their vision, something in their walk
something in their changing associa-
lions, something above, something be-
meath, something within, to remind
them that 1t is toward evening.
The great want of all such is to have
Jesus abide with them. 1t is a dis.
NAL thing to be getting old without
the rejuvenating influence of religion
When we step on the down grade Of
life and see that it dips to the verge
of the cold river, we want to behold
some one near who will help us acros:
/ it. When the sight loses it's power tC
} glance and gather up, we need the faitf
that can illumine. When wesfeel thu
failure of the ear, we need the clear
tones Of that voice which in older
times broke up the silence of the dea
with cadence of mercy. When the axe
men of death hew down whole forests
of strength and beauty around us ant
we are left in solitude, we need tn,
dove of divine mercy to sing in OH
branches. When the shadows begin t,
l fall and we feel that the day Is IA
| spent, we need most of all to suppl
| cate the strong, beneficent Jesus in TIL
3 prayer of the villagers, abide with us
| for it is toward evening""
t The request of the text is an appro
pirate exclamation for all those VIII
: are approached in the gloomy hour o
t temptation There is nothing easie
s then to be good-natured when every
J, thing pleases, or to be humble whei
! there Is nothing to oppose us, or for
t giving when we have not been assailed
d or honest when we have no induce
n ment to fraud. But you have felt tn
5 grapple of some temptation. Your ma
S ture at some time quaked and groane
: under the internal force. You felt tina
Q the devil was after you. You saw you
Christian graces retreating. Yo
feared that you would fall in tho aw
y full wrestle with sin and be throw
Q into the dust. The gloom thickenet
}, The first indications of the night wer
! seen in all the trembling of your soul
: in all the Internal suggestions of Sa
tan, in all the surging up OF tumultu
GUS passions and excitements, you fel
with awful emphasis that 1t was to
ward evening. In the tempted hou
!, you need Ito ask Jesus to abide wit
! you. You can beat back the monste
) that would devour you. You can I'm
y horse the sin that would ride yo
down. You can sharpen the battle-ax