Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1897-11-10
and then you will be able to help others

q confess to you that my one wish is to
serve this generation, not to antagonize it,
not to damage 1t, not to ruleit, but to serve
it. would like to do something toward
helping unstrap its load, to stop its tears.
to balsam its wounds, and to induce it to
| put foot on the upward road that has at its
| terminus acclamation rapturous, and gates
pearly, and garlands amaranthine, and
| fountains rainbowed, and dominions en-
| throned and coroneted. for cannot forget
| that lullaby In the closing words OF my
| text: David, after he had served his own
generation by the will OF God fell on Sleep
What lovely sleep 1t was! Unfilial Absa-
| lom did not trouble it, Ambitious Adonijah
did not worry it. Prosecuting Saul did not
| harrow it. Exile did not fill it with night
| mare. Since red-headed boy, amid his
| fathers focks at night he had not had
such good sleep. At seventy years of age
| he lay down to it. He had had many a
| troubled sleep, as in his caverns of Adul-
lam. or in the palace at the time his enemies
| were attempting his capture. But this was
| peaceful sleep, calm sleep. restful
| sleep, glorious sleep. After he had
! served his generation by the will of God, he
| fell on sleep
''Oh, what good thing is sleep after a
| hard days work, 1t takes all the aching
out of the head, and all the WEAKNESS out
| of the limbs, and all the smarting out of the
| eyes. From 1t we rise in the morning, and
| it is a new world. And If we, like David,
serve our generation we will at life's close
| have most desirable aud refreshing sleep.
In it will vanish our last fatigue of body,
| our last wOrriment of mind, our last sorrow
of soul. To the Christians body that was
| hot with raging fevers, so that the attend
ants must by sheer force keep on the blank
| cts it will be the cool sleep. To those who
are thin -blooded and shivering with agues,
| it will be the warm sleep. To those who.
because of physical disorders were terrified
| with night visions it will be to the dream
| mothers who were wakened almost every
hour of the night by those to whom they
| ministered, or over whom they watched, it
will be the undisturbed sleep To those
! who could not get to bed till late at night,
and must rise early in the morning, and be-
| fore getting rested, it will be the long
| sleep.
/ away with all your gloomy talk about
| departing from this worldi If we have
| served our generation it will not be put
| ting out into the breakers: it will not be
the fight with the King of Terrors: it will
| be going to sleep. friend writing me
| from Illinois, says that Rev. DR.. Wingate,
President of Wake Forest College, North
| Carolina. after most useful life. found
| his last day on earth his happiest day, and
| that in his last moments he seemed to be
! personally talking with Christ as friend
| with friend, saying: ooh, how delightful
| it isl | knew you would be with me when
the time came, and l knew it would be
| sweet as it is The fact was, he had
served his generation in the gospel min
/ istry, and by the will OF God he fell asleep.
| When in Africa, Maiwara, the servant,
! looked into the tent of David Livingstone,
| and found him on his knees. he stepped
back. not wishing to disturb him in prayer,
! and some time after went in and found
! him in the same posture and stepped back
| again: but after awhile, went in and
| touched him, and, lol the great traveller
! A.. 1, I,-t 10 hnI
died in the grandest and mightiest posture
| a man ever takes-on his knees. He had
/ served his generation by unrolling the
scroll of a continent, and by the will of
| God fell on sleep. In the museum of
| Greenwich, England, there is fragment
of book that was found on the arctic
| regions, amid the relics of Sir John Frank
| lin, who had perished amid the snow and
| ice, and the leaf of that piece of book
turned down at the words; when
! a T:.eIs ~, s 20
| with thee. Having served his generation
in the cause of science and discovery, by
the will of God he fell on sleep.
"Why will you keep us all so nervous
| talking about that which is only a dormi-
tory and pillowed slumber. canopied by
| angels wings? Sleep. Transporting
sleepl And what a glorious awakening?
You and have sometimes been thoroughly
bewildered after a long and fatiguing
journey: we have stopped at friends
house for the night, and after hours of
| complete unconsciousness we have opened
our eyes the high-risen sun full in our
| faces, aud before we could fully collect our
| faculties, have said: Where am /; whose
| house is this, anil whose are these gar
dens2' And, then, it has flashed upon US
In glad reality.
..And | should not wonder if. after we
have served our generation, and, by the
will of God, have fallen on sleep, the deep
! sleep the restfus sleep, we should awaken
| in bissful bewilderment, and for little
while say: Where am 1? What palace is
this? Why, this looks like heaveni II is;
it is. Why, there is building grander than
all the castles of earth heaved into apoun-
| tain of splendor-that must be the palace
| of Jesus. And look there; at those walls
| lined with foliage more beautiful than any
| thing l ever saw before and see those who
are walking down those aises of verdure.
| From what have heard of them those two
| walking arm in arm must be MCs' and
Joshua, him of Mount Sinai and he of the
halting sun over Gibeon. Ana those two
walking arm in arm must oe John and
Paul, the one so gentle and the other so
mighty.
"'But l must not look any longer at
those gardens of beauty, but examine this
| building in which / have just awakened. .
look out of the window this way and
that, and up and down, and find it is a
| mansion of immense size in which l am
| stopping. All its windows of agate and
| its cOlonnades of porphyry and alabaster.
| Why, wonder If this is not the House OF
many Mansions" OF which l used to read?
1t is; it is. There must be many of my
kindred and friends in this very mansion.
Harki Whose are those voices? Whose are
those bounding feet2 open the door and
see, and lol they are coming through all
the corridors, and up and down all the
| stairs, our long absent kindred. Why,
there is father, there is mother, there are
the children. All well again. All young
| again. All of US together again And as we
| embrace each other with the cry, Never
more to part; never more to part" the
arches, the alcoves, the Railways, echo and
re-echo the words, Never /mOre to part;
| never more to parti'' Thgn our glorilied
friends say Come out with us and see
heaven And, some 81 them bounding
ahead of us and some CT them skipping be-
side us. we start dow1 the ivory stairway.
And we meet, coming up, one of the Kings
81 ancient Israel, ! somewhat small of
stature, but having a countenance radiant
Y with n thousand Victories. And as all are
4 making obeisance to this great one oi
heaven, cry out, ''Who is he?" and the
answer comes. This is the greatest of ai
the Kings; il, is David, who, after he hat
served his generation by the will of God
fell on sleep.'''''
Useful Hints.