The Farmville herald. [volume] (Farmville, Va.) 1890-1934, 1899-05-12

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Sabbath this beautiful grace OF Chris.
tian hospitality.
A good man travelling IN the far west
IN the wilderness was oyertaken by
night and storm. and he put IN at q
cabin. Tie saw firearms along the beams
OF the cabin, and he felt alarmed. lie
did not know but that he had fallen
into d den of thieves He sat there
greatly perturbed After awhile the
man Of the house came home with a gun
on his shoulder and set it down in a
corner. The stranger was still more
alarmed. After awhile the man Of the
house whispered with his wife, and the
stranger thought his destruction was
being planned Then the man of the
house came forward and said 10 tho
stranger: stranger, We are a rough
and rude people out here, and we work
hard for living. We make our living
by hunting, and when we come to the
nightfall we are tired and we are apt to
60 to bed early, and before retiring we
are always in the habit of reading a
chapter from the Word of God and
making prayer. Hyou don't like such
things, if you will just step outside the
door until We get through, I'll be great
ly obliged TO you" OF course the stran-
ger tarried in the room, and the old
hunter took hold of the horns of the
altar and brought down the blessing of
God upon his household and upon the
stranger within their gates. Rude but
glorious Christian hospitality
Again, this woman OF my text was
great in her kindness toward Cots
messenger. Elisha may have been q
stranger in that household. but as she
found out he had come on Divine mis-
sion he was cordially welcomed. We
have a great many books in our day
about the hardships of ministers and
the trials of Christian ministers. l
wish somebody would write a book
about the joys of the Christian minis
ter, about the sympathies all around
him. about the kindness, about the
genial considerations of him. Does sor-
row come to our home. and is there
shadow on the cradle, there are hum
dreds of hands TO help, and many who
weary not through the night watching.
and hundreds of prayers going up that
God would restore the sick Is there
burning, brimming cup of calamity
placed on the pastors table? Are there
not many to help him drink Of that cup,
and who will not be comforted because
he is stricken? Oh, for somebody to
write a book about the rewards of the
Christian ministry-about his sur
roundings of Christian sympathy
This woman Of the text was only
type of thousands of men and women
who come down from mansion and |
from cot to do kindness to the Lords |
servants. could tell you of some
thing that you might think a romance.
A young man graduated from New
Brunswick theological seminary was
called TO a village church. He had not
the means 10 furnish the parsonage.
After three or four weeks Of preaching
a committee of the officers Of the
church waited on him and told him he
looked tired and thought he had better
take a vacation Of a few days. The
young pastor took IL as an intimation
that his work was done or not accept
able. He took the vacation, and at the
end of a few days came back, when an
old elder said: There is the key Of the
We have been cleaning il
up You had better go up and look at
It," So the young pastor took the key,
went up to the parsonage, opened the
door, and lol il was carpeted. and there
was a hatrack all ready for the canes
and umbrellas and the overcoats, and
on the left hand Of the hall was the par
or, sofaed, chaired, pictured He
passed on to the other side of the hall
and there was the study table in the
,enter of the floor with stationery up
IN It, boolSshelyes built, long ranges of
lew volumes, far beyond the reach of
he means of the young pastor many OF
hese volumes. The young pastor went
Upstairs and found all the sleeping
.partments furnished, came downstairs
md entered the pantry, and there were
he spices and the coifees and the
ugars, and the groceries for six
months. He went down into the cellar,
nd there was the coal for the coming
vinter. He went into the dining hall,
nd there was the table already set
he glass and the silver ware. lie went
nto the kitchen, and there were all the
ulinary implements and a great stove.
he young pastor lifted one lid of the
tove and he found the fuel all ready for
gnition Putting back the cover Of the
tove, he saw in another part of it
lcifer match, and all that young man
ad to do in starting to keep house was
D strike the match. You tell me that is
pocryphal Oh, mol that was my own
experience. Oh, the kindness, the en-
lrged sympathies sometimes cluster
lg around those who enter the GOSPEL
linistry. l suppose the man Of Shunem
ad to pay the bills, but il was the
Christian woman of
hunem that looked after the Lords
lessenger.
Again, this woman Of the text was
reat in her behavior under trouble
er only son had died on her lap. A
Try bright light went out in that
ousehold. The sacred writer puts it
.ry tersely when he says: "He sat on
sr knee until noon and then he died"
ct the writer goes on TO say that she
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