The Middleburgh post. [volume] (Middleburgh, Snyder Co., Pa.) 1883-1916, 1898-03-17

prsbebility b ~ ysuR body vim q
last and . sspuleAsr In some Of the
cemeteries that surround your town or
city. There Ii NO doubt but that your
obseQuies will be decsnt and respectful.
and you will be able to pillow your
head under the maple. or the Norway
spruce. or the cypress. or the blossom
Ing Or, but this spirit about which Ste
phen prayed-what direction will that
take? What guide win escort It?
What gate will open to receive It?
What cloud will bs cleft for its path
way? After 1t has got beyond the light
Of our sun, will there be torches light
ed for 1t the rest Of the way? Will the
soul have to travel through long des-
erts before It reaches the good land?
II we should lose our pathway, will
there be castle at whose gate we may
ask the way to the city? Oh, this mys-
terious spirit within us! It has tive
wings. but It is In . cage now. It 10
locked fast to keep 1t, but let the door
Of this cage open the least. and that
soul 10 of. Eagles wing could not
catch 1t. The lightnings are not swift
enough to take up with 1t. When the
soul leaves the body 1t takes dtty
worlds at q bound. And have I NO
anxiety about It? Have you NO anxi-
ETY. about It?
I do not care what you do with my
body when my soul is gone or whether
you believe in cremation or inhuma-
ton. I shall sleep Just as we'll in .
wrapping Of sackcloth as In satin lined
with eagles down. But my soluble
fore this day passes I will hnd out
where 1t will land. Thank God for the
intimation Of my text, that when we
questions for me. What though there
were massive bars between here and
the city Of light, Jesus could remove
them. What though there were great
Saharas Of darkness. Jesus could re-
move them. What though I get weary
on the way, Christ could lift me on his
omnipotent shoulder. What though
there were chasms to cross, his hand
could transport me. Then let Ste
phen's prayer be my dying litany.
Lord Jesus, receive my spirit"
Pass on now, and I will show you
one more picture. and mat is Stephen
asleep. With pathos and simplicity
peculiar to the Scriptures the text says
Of Stephen, He fell asleep" "Oh." you
say, what a place that was to sleep!
A hard rock under him, stones falling
down upon him, the blood streaming,
the mob bowling. What a place
1t was to sleep!" And yet my
text takes that symbol of slum-
ber to describe his departure, so
sweet was 1t, so contented was 1t, so
peaceful was it. Stephen had lived a
very laborious life. His chief work
had been to care for the poor. How
many loaves Of bread he distributed,
how many bare feet he had sandaled.
how many cots OF sickness and distress
he blessed with ministries Of kindness
and love l do not know, but from the
way he lived and tho way he preached
and the way he died know hs was
laborious Christian. But that is all
over now. He has pressed the cup to
the last fainting lip. He has taken the
last insult from his enemies. The last
stone to whose crushing weight he Is
susceptible has been hurled. Stephen
Is dead! The disciples come. They
take him up. They wash away the
blood from the wounds. They straight
en- out the bruised limbs. They brush
back the tangled hair from the brow,
and then they pass around to look up
on the calm countenance OF him whd
had lived for the poor and died for the
truth. Stephen asleep!
have seen the sea driven with the
hurricane until the tangled foam
caught In the rigging, and wave rising
above wave seemed as II about to
storm the heavens, and then l have
seen the tempest drop and the waves
crouch and everything become smooth
and FURNISHED as though a camping
place for the glories of heaven. So
have seen a man whose life has been
tossed and driven coming down at last
to an infinite calm. In which there was
the hush Of heavens lullaby.
have not the faculty to tell the
weather. / can never tell by the set
ting sun whether there will be
drought or not. cannot tell by the
of the wind whether it will be
fair weather or foul on the morrow,
but can prophesy, and I will prophe-
sy. what weather 1t will be when you.
the Christian. come to die. You may
have 1t very rough now. It may be
this week one annoyance, the next an
other annoyance. It may be this year
one bereavement, the next another be-
reavement. Before this year has pass
ed you may have to beg for bread or
ask for a scuttle of coal or a pair of
shoes, but at the last Christ Will come
in, and darkness will 60 out, and,
though there may be no hand to close
your eyes and no breast ON which to
rest your dying head and no candle to