Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1898-07-22

tain sea and some Of the ships crash on
the icebergs of cold indifference, and
some take fire Of evil passions and some
lose their bearings and run into the
Goodwin sands and some are never
heard OF. Surely on such a treacherous
sea as that one voyage is enough
Delayed Joys.
Besides all this, do you know, if you
could have your wish and live life over
again it would put you so much further
from reunion with your friends in heav-
en-? If you are in the noon of life or
the evening of life, you are not very
far from the golden gate at which you
are to meet your transported and EN-
paradised loved ones You are now, let
US say, 20 years, or 10 years, or one year
off from celestial conjunction. Now,
suppose you went back in your earthly
life 80 years, or 40 years. or 80 years,
what an awful postponement Of the
time of reunion. 1t would be as though
you were going to San Francisco TO a
great banquet, and you got to Oakland,
four or five miles this side of It, and
then came back to Baltimore to get a
better start, as though you were going
TO England to be crowned, and having
come in sight of the mountains Of Wales
you put back to Sandy Hook in order
to make a better voyage Would you
like for many years to adjourn the
songs Of heaven, TO adjourn the thrones
of heaven, TO adjourn the companion
ship Of heaven, to adjourn the rest Of
heaven, to adjourn the presence Of
Christ in heaven? No. the wheel Of
time turns in the right direction, and
it is we'll it turns so fast. Three hun
dred and sixty-fve revolutions in a
year and forward rather than 365 revo-
lutions in year and backward.
But hear ye, hear ye, while | tell you
how you may practically live your life
over again and be all the better for it.
You may put into the remaining years
Of your life all you have learned of wis
dom in your past life. You may make
the coming 10 years worth the preceding
40 or so years. When man says he
woald like to live his. life over again
because he would do so much settsr.-
and yet goes right on living as he has
always lived, do you not see he stulti-
fies himself? He proves that if he could
20 back he would do almost the same
as he has done.
If a man eat green apples some
Wednesday in cholera time and is
thrown into fearful cramps and says on
Thursday, ~ wish | had been more
prudent in my diet; oh, if | could live
Wednesday over again, and then on
Friday eats apples just as green, ne
proves that it would have been no ad.
vantage for him to live Wednesday over
again. And if we, deplOring our past
life, and with the idea Of improvement.
long for an opportunity to try it over
again, yet 60 on making the same mis-
takes and committing the same sins,
we only demonstrate that the repetition
of our existence would afford no inn
provement. 1t was green apples before
and it would be green apples over again
Atone For Past Indolence.
As soon as a ship captain strikes a
rock in the lake or sea he reports IL,
and buoy is swung over that reef. and
mariners henceforth stand off from that
rock. And all our mistakes in the past
ought to be buoys, warning us to keep
in the right channel There is no ex-
cuse for us if we split Oh the same rock
where we split before. Going along the
sidewalk at night where excavations
are being made we frequently see Ian
tern on a framework, and weturn aside,
for that lantern says keep out OF this
hole. And all along the pathway Of life
lanterns are set as warnings, and by the
time we come to midlife we ought to
know where it is safe to walk and
where it is unsafe
Besides that we have all these years
been learning how TO be useful, and in
the next decade we ought TO accomplish
more for God and the church and the
world than in any previous four dec
AIDES. The best way to atone Tor past
Incidence OF past transgression is by fu-
ture assiduity. Yet we often find Chris
tian men who were not converted until
they were 40 or 80, as old age comes
Oh, saying, "Well, my work is about
done, and it is time for me TO rest.
They gave 40 years Of their life to satan
and the world, little fragment Of their
life to God, and now they want rest.
Whether that belongs to comedy or
tragedy | say not.
The man who gave one half OF his
earthly existence to the world ana OF
the remaining two quarters one 10
Christian work and the other to rest
would not, suppose, get very bril-
liant reception in heaven II there are
any dried leaves in heaven, they would
be appropriate for his garland, or II
there is any throne with broken steps
it would be appropriate for his corona
tion, or any harp with relaxed string
it would be appropriate for his finger
ing. My brother, you give nine-tenths
of your life to sin and satan, aud then
get converted, and then rest awhile IN
sanctifed laziness, and then go up to
get your heavenly reward, and l war
rant it will not take the cashier OF the
royal banking house a great while TO
count out to you all your dues lie VIII
not ask you whether you will have 10
in bills of large denomination or small
| would like to put one sentence OF my
sermon in italics and have It under
scored. anil three exclamation points at
the end of the sentence. and that SEN
tence is this: As we cannot live our
lives over again the nearest we can
come to atone for the past is by redou-
bled holiness and industry in the future.
II this rail train Of life has been de-
tanned and switched off and is far be-
hind the time table, the engineer for
the rest Of the way must put on more
pressure of steam and go mile min
ute in order to arrive at the right time
and place, under the approval OF con-
dactor and directors
Practice Kindness