Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1898-12-22

/ why Hil the DueiHcr1s iHH III NV Ooah'-
ing room say: "Good! Now. that IL re-
ligion." And the clerksget hold Of the
story md talk II over, so that the
weigher and cooper and hickman,
standing on the doorstep say: That
| 10 splendid Now. that is what ] call
religion"
II is good thing to preach on Sun
day morning. the people assembled In
most respectable attire and seated on
soft cushions the preacher standing in
neatly upholstered pulpit surrounded
by personal friends. and after an In
spring hymn has been sung, and that
sermon. If preached In faith. will do
good; but the most effective sermon Is
preached by one seated In dressing
gown In an armchair into which the
invalid has with much care been lifted.
the surrounding shelves filled with
medicine bottles, some to produce
sleep. some for the relief of sudden
paroxysm, some for stlmulant, some
for tonic, some for anodyne and some
for febrifnge, the pale preacher quot
ing promises OF the Gospel. telling OF
the glories of sympathetic Christ. as
curing the one or two or three persons
who hear IL OF the mighty reinforce
ments OF religion. You say that to
such sermon there are only one or
two or three hearers. Aye, but the
visitor calling at that room. then clos
ing the door softly and going away,
tells the story. and the whole neighbor-
hood hears It. and It will take all eterni-
ty to realize the grand and uplifting
influence of that sermon about God and
the soul, though preached to an audi
ence of only one man or one woman,
The Lord has ordained all such In
valids for style Of usefulness which
athletics and men OF 200 healthy NV
oirdupois cannot affect II was not an
enemy that fastened you in that one
room or sent you on crutches. the long
est journey you have made for many
weeks being from bed to sofa and from
sofa to looking glass where You are
shocked at the pallor OF your own
cheek and the pinchedness Of your fea-
lures: then back again from mirror to
sofa and sofa to bed. with long sigh
saying: "lIow good il feels to get back
again to my old place on the pillow!'
Remember who II is hat appointed the
day when for the first time In many
years you could not go to business and
who has kept record ofa the weary
days and all the sleepless nights OF
your exile from the world. 0 weary
man! 0 feeble woman. It was the Lord
who shut you in! DO you remember
that some of the noblest and best OF
men have been prisonersP Ezekiel a
prisoner. Jeremiah prisoner, Paul
prisoner, st. John n prisoner, John
Bunyan n prisoner. Though human
hate seemed to have NIL odo with them,
really the Lord shut them in.
No doubt, while on thatyoy age, Noah
and his three sons and all the four la
dies OF the antediluvian world often
thought Of the bright hillsides and the
green fields where they had walked
and OF the homes where they had lived.
They had had many years OF expert
tnces. Noah was GOO years old at the
had seen GOO sprlngtimes, 600 sum
mcrs, 600 autumns 600 winters, We
IRE not told how old his wife was at
this wreck of earth and sky The Bible
tells the age of great many men. but
only once gives n womans age. At
one time II gives ADAMS age as 1870
years. and Jared's age at l62 years, and
Enoch's age as 365 years, and all up
and down the Bible ii gives the age OF
men, but does not give the age of wom-
en-, Whyp Because, | suppose, wom-
ans age Is none OF our business But
all the men and women that tossed in
TINT oriental craft had lived long
enough to remember great many of
the mercies and kindnesses of God, and
they could not blot out, and | thinh
they had no disposition to blot out the
memory of those brightnessses, though
now they were shut in, Neither should
the shut in of our time forget the bless
ings OF the past. Have you been blind
for ten years? Thank God for the time
when you saw as clearly us any OF us
can see, and let the pageant of all the
radiant landscapes and illumined skies
which you ever looked upon kindle
your rapturous gratitude, ! do not see
Raphaels madonna di San Sisto" in
the picture gallery OF Dresden, nor
Rubens' Descent from the Cross" Mt
Antwerp, nor Michael Angeles Last
Judgment" on the ceiling of the yati-
can, nor Saint Sophia at Constantino-
pie, nor the rarthenon on the Acrop
oils. nor the Tai Mahafof India. But
shall l not thank God that l have seen
themp Is II possible that such mid
night darkness shall ever blast my VI
sion that | cannot call them up again?
Perhaps you are SO deaf that you can.
not hear the chirp OF bird or solo of
caltatrice. or even organ In full diapa.
son. though you feel the foundations
tremble under It's mn jestc roll or even
the thunderstorm that makes Mount
Washington echo. But are you not
grateful that once you could hear trill
and chant and carol doxoogyr
DO you forget when In childhood you
| danced and skipped because you were