The Sussex Republican., 1899-12-16
his earthly existence go down upon his

De uSnereu INTO tne presence OF Ou
Maker with grudge upon our soul
The majority of people depart this Iif,
in the night. Between II o'clock D. IN
and 3 o'clock a. m. there Is some
thing In the atmosphere which relaxes
the grip which the body has on tbs
world through the shadows Of thil
world. Perhaps God may have ar
ranged II In that way so as to make
the contrast the more glorious. have
seen sunshiny days In this world that
must have been almost like the radi-
ance Of heaven. But ms most people
leave the earth between sundown and
darkest. and heaven. always bright
will be the brighter for that contrast
Out of darkness into irradiation.
Burden of Old Grudees.
Shall we then leap over the roseate
bank of sunset into the favorite hunt
ing ground of disease and death, car
rying our animosities with us? Who
would want to confront his God.
against whom we have all done mean
er things than anybody has even done
against us, carrying old grudges? How
can we expect his forgiveness for the
greater when we are not willing to for
give others for the less? Napoleon
was encouraged to undertake the cross
ing of the Alps because Charlemagne
had previously crossed them. And all
this rugged path of forgiveness bears
the bleeding footsteps of him who con-
quered through suffering. and we
ought to be willing to follow. On the
night of our departure from this life in
to the next our one plea will have to
be for mercy, and 1t will have to be
offered in the presence of him who has
said, @If you forgive not men their
trespasses. neither will your Heavenly
Father forgive your trespasses." What
sorry plight II we stand there hat
ing this one, and hating that one, and
wishing that one a damage, and wish
ing some one else calamity. and we
ourselves needing forgiveness for TO-
900 obliquities of heart and life. When
our last hour comes. we want II to find
us all right. Hardly anything affects
me so much In the uncovering of Pom
peii as the account of the soldier who,
after the city had for many centuries
been covered with the ashes and
scorl@ of vesuvlus, was found stand
ing In his place on guard, hand on
spear and helmet Oh head. Others fed
at the awful enlargement, but the
explorer. LOO years after, found the
body OF that brave fellow In right posi-
ton. And 1t will be a grand thing il,
when our last moment comes, we are
found In right position toward God, on
guard and unaffrighted by the descend
Ing ashes from the mountain of death
1 do not suppose that am any more
of coward than most people. but de-
clare to you that | would not dare to
sleep tonight II there were any being
in all the earth with whom | would
not gladly shake hands, lest during the
night hours my spirit dismissed to 9TH
er realms, should because of my un-
forglving spirit. be denied divine for
giveness.
But" says some woman, there Is
horrid creature that has so injured me
that rather than make up with her /
would die first" Well, sister, you
may take your choice. for one or the
other II will be-your complete pardon
of her or Gods eternal Punishment of
you. But" says some man, ''that fel-
low who cheated me out of those
goods, or damaged my business credit,
or started that lie about me In the
newspapers, or by his perfidy broke
up my domestic happiness, forgive him
1 cannot, forgive him l will not" Well.
brother, take your choice. You will
never be at peace with God till you are
at peace with man. Feeling as you
now do. you would not get so near the
harbor Of heaven as to see the light
ship. Better leave that man with the
God who said: vengeance is mine.
will repay" You may say: 81 will
make him sweat for that yet. will
make him squirm. | mean to pursue
him to the death" But you are damag-
ing yourself more than you damage
him, and you are making heaven for
your own soul an impossibility. II he
will not be reconciled to you, be recon-
ciled to him. In five or six hours 1t will
be sundown. The dahlias will bloom
against the western sky. Somewhere
between this and that take a shovel
and bury the old quarrel at least six
feet deep. "Let not the sun go down
upon your wrath"
Renounce Hstreds.
But" you say, II have more than |
can bear. Too much is put upon me.
and am not to blame II am some
what revengeful and unrelenting."
Then think of the little child at the
Of some goods from a store.
The father was putting some rolls of
goods on the child's arm. package after
package, and some one said, @That
child is being overloaded. and so much
ought not to be put upon her." when
the child responded, Father knows
how much can carry" And God. our
Father. will not allow too much i'm
position on his children. In the day of
eternity II will be found you had not
one annoyance too many, not one ex-
asperation too many. not one outrage
too many. Your Heavenly Father
knows how much you can carry.
Again, we ought not TO allow the pas
sage OF the sunset hour before the dis
missal OF all our affronts. because we
may associate the sublimest action of
the soul with the sublimest spectacle
In nature. 1t Is a most delightsome
thing to have our personal experiences
allied with certain subjects. There is a
tree or river bank where God first an
swered your prayer. You win never
pass that place or think of that place
thinking of the glorious com
nunlon. There was some gate or some
room or some garden wall where you
were affianced with the companion
who has been your chief Joy in life.
You never speak of that. place but
with smile. Some Of you have pleas
int memories connected with the even