Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1898-11-11


ed the contest wrestler might be
thrown once and thrown twice. but the
third time be might recover himself,
and by an unexpected twist Of arm OF
curve Of foot gain the day Well, that
is broad, smiling, unmis.lkabie gospel
Some whom | address through ear or
eye, by voice or printed page, have been
thrown in their wrestle with evil habit
Aye, you have been thrown twice,
but that does not mean, oh. wOrsted
soul, that you are thrown forever l
have no authority for saying how many
times a man may sin and be forgiven OF
how many times he may fall and yet
rise again, but | have authority for
saying that he may fall 400 times and
400 times get up The Bible declares
that God will forgive 20 times 7. and if
you will employ the rule Of multiplica-
tion you will find that 20 times is 400
Blessed be God for such gospel Of high
hope aud thrilling encouragement and
magnificent rescued A gospel Of lost
sheep brought home on Shepherds
shoulder, and the prodigals who got in
to the low work of putting husks into
swines' troughs brought home to jewel
ry and banqueting and hilarity that
made the rafters ring
Three sketches Of the same man. A
happy home, Of which he and lassie
taken from a neighbours house are the
united head Years Of happiness roll on
after years of happiness. stars pointing
down to nativities And whether an.
nounced in greeting or not every morn
ing was GOOD morning" and every
night a Good night" Christmas trees
and May queens, and birthday festiyi-
ties and Thanksgiving gatherings
around loaded tables. But that husband
and father forms an unfortunate ac-
auaintance who leads him IN circles too
conyiyial. too late houred. too scandal
GUS. After awhile, his money gone and
not able to bear his part Of the expense,
he is gradually showed out aud ignored
and pushed away. Now, what a d.
lapidated home is his a dissipated life
always shows itself in faded window
curtains, and impoverished wardrobe,
and detected surroundings, and in bro
ken palings Of the garden fence, and the
uDhinged gate, and the dislocated door
bell, and the disappearance OF wife aud
children from scenes among which they
shone the brightest and laughed the
eladdest. If any man was ever down,
that husband and father is down. The
fact is. he got into wrestle with evil
that pushed and pulled and contorted.
and exhausted him worse than any
Olympian game ever treated Greclan.
and he was thrown Thrown out Of pros
perity into gloom Thrown out Of good
association into bad Thrown out Of
health into invalidism. Thrown out Of
happiness into misery but one day,
while Sinking through one Of the back
streets, not wishing to be recognized, a
good thought crosses his mind, for he
has heard of men flung fat rising again
Arriving at his house, he calls his wife
in and shuts the door and says: MARY,
| am going to do differently. This is
not what promised you when we were
married. You have been very patient
with me and have borne everything, al
though would have had no right to
complain if you had left me and gone
home to your fathers house. Ii seems to
me that once or twice, when | was not
myself, | struck You, and several times
| know, called you hard names. Now
| want YOU to forgive me l am going
to do better, and want you to help
me. ." Help you:" she says. Bless
YOUR soull OF course | will help youl
knew you didn't mean it when you
treated me roughly All that is in the
past. Never refer to it again. Today
let us begin anew. "
Sympathizing friends come around
and kind business people help the man
TO something to do, so that he can again
earn living. The children soon have
clothing so that they can 60 to school
The old songs which the wife sang
wears ago come back to her memory.
and she sings them over again at the
cradle OF while preparing the MONDAY
meal. Domestic resurrection de comes
home earlier than he used TO, and he Is
glad to spend the evening playing games
with the children or helping them with
arithmetic or grammar lessons which
are little too hard Time passes on,
and some outsider suggests to him that
he is not getting as much out OF life as
he ought and proposes an occasional
visit to scenes Of worldliness and dissi-
patton He consents to 90 once, aud
after much solicitation twice. Then his
old habit comes back. He says be has
been belated and could not get back un-
Ill midnight He had to see some west
ern merchant that had arrived and talk
of business with him before he got out
of town Kindness and geniality again
quit the disposition Of that husband and
father The wife's heart breaks in a
new place. That man goes into a second
wrestle with evil habit and is flung.
and all hell cackles at the moral defeat.
Il told you so. " say many good people
who have no faith in the reformation
of a fallen man. IL told you sol You
made a great fuss about his restored
home. but | knew 1t would not last.
You can't trust these fellows who have
once gone wrong" So with this unfor-
tunate, things get worse and worse, and
his family have to give up the house,
and the last valuable goes to the pawn
brokers' shop. But that unfortunate
man is sauntering along the street one
Sunday night, and he goes up TO a church
door, and the congregation are singing
the second hymn, the one just before
sermon, and it is William Cowper's
glorious hymn;
There is n fountain filed with blood
Drawn from Emmanuel's veins,
And sinners plunged beneath that Hood
Lose all their guilty stains.
Wavering nt the Door.
He goes into the yestibule OF the
church and stops there. not feeling well
enough dressed to 60 among the wor-
slippers, and be hears the minister say.
"You will find the words Of my text In
Luke, the nineteenth chapter and tenth
verse, The Sen Of Nan is come to seek