The Middleburgh post. [volume] (Middleburgh, Snyder Co., Pa.) 1883-1916, 1898-09-15

Ing for our own
: :: : !: !; ]: !: !: !: ! ! !. !: ! ! !
IN - generation; text
Acts xiii. s6. ''Da-
~1 rid. after he had
AA served his own gen
~ZA GRAFTON by the will
W - OF God. fell on
Sleep"
That IL a text which mas for Q long
time been running through my mind.
Sermons have time TO be born as
well as time to die-a cradle rs wei.
as Il grave. David. cowboy and stone
singer and fighter and dramatist and
blank verse writer and prophet. did
his best for the people Of his time. and
then went and laid down on the south
ern hill of Jerusalem In that .soun,l
slumber which nothing but an arch
angelic blast cau startle. David.
after he had served his own genera
ton by the will Of God. fell OH sleep.
1t was his own generation that he
had served-that is. the people living
ut the time he lived. And have you
ever thought that our responsibilities
are chiefly with the people now walk
ing abreast of us? There are nboul
four generations to century now, bnl
in olden times life was longer. nnf
there was perhaps only one generation
to u century. Taking these facts into
the calculation. l make II rough guess
and say that there have been Mt leas
$50 generations of the human family.
With reference TO them we have no re-
sponsibility. We cannot teach them.
we cannot correct their mistakes, we
cannot soothe their sorrows. we can.
not heal their wounds. Their sepul'
chers are deaf and dumb to anything
we might say to them. The last reg
lment Of that great army has passed
out Of sight. We might halloo Us loud
as we could; not one of them would
avert his head to see what we wanted.
admit that am in sympathy with
the child whose father had suddenly
died. and who in her little evening
prayer wanted TO continue to pray for
her father, although he had gone into
heaven, and no more needed her pray
ars. and, looking up into her mothers
face, said "Oh, mother, l cannot
leave him all out! Let me say thank
God that | had good father once, 81
can keep him in my prayers
But the $50 generations have passed
off. Passed up. Passed down. Gone
forever. Then there are generations
to come after our earthly existence
has ceased. We shall not see them,
we shall not hear any Of their voices.
we will take no part in their convoca-
tlons, their catastrophes, their tr-
nmphs. We will in nowIse affect the
$50 generations gone or the $50 gen
arations to come, except as from the
galleries OF heaven the former gener-
ations look down and rejoice at our
victories as as we may, by our be-
havior. start influences, good or bad,
that shall roll on through the advanc-
Ing ages. But our business Is. like
the people now living, those whose
lungs now breathe and whose hearts
now beat. And, mark you, 1t Is not "A
silent procession, but moving " =
forced march" at "a miles n day, each
hour being Il mile. Going with that
celerity. it has got to be n quick ser
vice on our part, or no service nj all.
We not only cannot teach the $50 gem
erations past and will not see the $50
generations TO come, but this genera
tion now on the stage will soon be off,
ard we ourselves will be off with them
The fact is that you and | will have
to start very soon for our work. or 1t
will be ironical and sarcastic for any
one after our exit to say of US, as ii
was said of David, After he had
served his own generation by the will
of God he fell on Sleep
Well now let us look around ear,
nestly, prayerfully, in n common sense
way and see what we can do for our
own generation. First OF all. let us
see to 1t that, as far as we can, they
have enough to cHt. The human body
Is so constituted that three times a
day the body neeJs food as much as
a lamp needs oil. as much as loco
motive needs fuel. To meet this want
God has girdled the earth with apple
orchards. orange groves. wheattields
and oceans full OF fish. and prairies
full OF cattle. And Notwithstanding
this, will undertake to say the vasi
majority of the human family are now
suffering either for lack OF food or the
right kind Of food. Our civilization Is
all askew, and God only can set 81
right. Many Of the greatest estates on
today have been built out of the blood
and bones of unrequited toll. In oil
entlmes for the building of forts ant
towers the inhabitants of Ispaban hat
to contribute 10000 skulls, and Bag
dad 10000 human skulls, and thai
number Of people were compelled I,
furnish the skulls. But these two con
tributions added together made OnlI
100000 skulls, while into the tower o
,u,rli'u p,aa1th onI ,.ntpn t,a,.