Connecticut western news., 1896-09-10
comfort vet. It is all dark.

What is the matteri I have found You ought to go God and say: "Here, O Lord, are the wounds of my soul, and I bring with me the wounded Jesus. Let his wounds pay for my wounds, his bereavements for my be- reavements, his loneliness for my lone- Illness. his heartbreak for my heart break O God, for the sake of the Lord Jesus Christ-the God, the man, the Benjamin, the brother-deliver my agonized soull O Jesus of the weary foot, ease my fatigue. O Jesus of the aching head, heal my aching head. O Jesus of the Bethany sisters, roll away the stone from the door of our grave:" That is the kind of prayer that brings help, and yet how many of you are getting no help at all, for the req son that there is in your soul, perhaps, secret trouble. You may never have mentioned it to single human ear, or you may have mentioned it to some one who is now gone away, and that great sorrow is still in your soul. After Washington Irving was dead they found little box that contained braid of hair and miniature and the name of Matilda Hoffman and a memorandum of her death and remark something like this: "The world after that was a blank to me. went into the country, but found no peace in solitude. tried to get into society, but found no peace in 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 youl No. human ear has ever heard that sorrow. Oh, troubled soul, I 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 Jesusl 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- sociations, and anything and everything rather than to take the divine oompan- ionship 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 ap- dience today might understand some thing of the height and depth and length and breadth and immensity and infinity of Gods eternal consolationsl
 An Element of Failure.
 I go farther and find in my subject hint as to why so many people fail of heaven. We are told that heaven has 12 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 gate that is not sometimes to be shut? The swinging of gate implies that our entrance into heaven is conditional. It is not none tary condition. If we come to the door of an exquisite concert, we are not sur prised that we must pay a fee, for we know that fine earthly music is expen- sive. But all the oratorios of heaven cost nothing. Heaven pays nothing for it's music. It is all free. There is nothing to be paid at that door for entrance, but the condition of getting into heaven is our bringing our divine Benjamin along with us. Do you notice how often dying people call upon Jesus? It is the usual prayer offered-the prayer offered more than all the other prayers put together -"Lord Jesus, receive my spiritr"
 One of our congregation, when asked in the closing moments of his life, Do you know us?' said: "Oh, yes, know you. God bless you. Goodbyl 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 up to- ward Egypt and had gone with the very finest equipage and had not taken Ben jamin 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: "Go 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. never knew you"
 The Key to Success-
 If 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 storehouses would have swpng 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 oorncribs 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 glorifed kindred seated at our table, the King shall pass 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 Lordi Thou art worthy.
 My friends, you see it is either Christ or famine. If there wer2 two banquets spread, and to one of them only you might go, you might stand and think for 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 long while, saying, Perhaps 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 choice between oratorios, you might say, ''I r1rpfpr ha fC,oatio,