The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1899-03-17

! strength" Heayen with its i gates
standing wide ope with Invitation
All the force Of the Godhead pledged
for our heavenly arrival If we will do
the right thing. All angeIdom ready
for our advance n guidance. All the
lightnings OF heaven so la drawn
swords for our protection. What a pity,
what an everlasting pity, IL lis bundle
of life, so well bound and so plainly di-
rected. does not come out at the right
station, but becomes a lost bundle, cast
out amid the rubbish Of the universe.
TWO TREASURES.
Know also~that a bundle may have
in it more than one invaluable. There
may be in 1t a photograph Of a loved
one and a jewel for a carcanet. It may
contain an embroidered robe and a
Dore's illustrated Bible. A bundle may
have two treasures. Abigail in my text
recognized this when she said to David,
THE soul Of my lord is bound in the
bundle of life with the Lord thy God"
And Abigail was right. We may be
bound up with a loving n sympa-
thetic God. We may be as near to him
as ever were emerald and ruby united
in one ring, as ever were two deeds III
one package, as ever were two vases on
the same shelf, as ever were two valu-
ables in the same bundle. Together in
time of sorrow. Together in time Of
joy Together on earth. Together in
heaven. Close ~companionship Of God.
Hear him, Il will never leave thee, nor
forsake thee" For the mountains
shall depart and the hills be removed,
but my kindness shall not depart from
thee, neither shall the covenant OF my
peace be removed, saith the Lord that
hath mercy on thee" And when those
Bible authors compared Gods friend
ship 10 the mountains for height and
irmness they knew what they were
writing about, for they we'll knew what
mountains are. All those lands are
mountainous. Mount. Hermon, Mount
Gilboa, Mount Gerizim, Mount Engedi,
Mount Horeb, Mount Nebo, Mount Pts
gah, Mount Olivet, Mount Zion, Mount
Moriah, Mount Lebanon, Mount Sinai,
Mount Golgotha. Yes, we nave the di-
vine promise that all those mountains
shall weigh their anchorage Of rocks
and move away from the earth before
u loving and sympathetic God will move
away from us if we love and trust him.
Oh, if we could realize that according
to my text we may be bound up with
that God, how independent it would
make US of things that now harass and
annoy and discompose and torment US!
Instead of a grasshopper being a bur-
den, a world of care WOuld be as light
as a feather, and tOmbstones would be
marble stairs to the Kings palace, and
all the giants Of opposition we would
smite down hip and thigh with great
slaughter.
GOD rs NEAR.
AGod away up in the heavens is not
much consolation to US when we get in
to life's struggle. 1t is a God close by,
as near to US as any two articles Of ap-
parel were near to each other in that
bundle that you sent the other day to
that %shivering home, through whose
roof the snow sifted and through whose
broken window pane the night winds
hoWled. 1t was sanctified irony and holy
sarcasm that Elijah used when he told
the ido1aters Of Baal to pray louder.
saying that their god might be asleep
or talking or on a journey or gone a.
hunting. But our God is always wide
awake and always hears and is always
close by and to him a whisper of prayer
is as loud as an archangelS ump
and a child's Now 1 lay me down to
sleep" is as easily heard by him as the
prayer Of the great Scotchman amid
the highlands when pursued by Lord
ClaverhOuse's miscreants. The Cove
nanter said, 80 Lord, cast the lap Of
thy cloak about these children Of the
covenant" and a mountain fog instant
ly hid the pursued from their blood
thirsty pursuers. I proclaim him a
God close by. When we are tempted
to DO wrong, when we have questions
of livelihood too much for us, when We
put our darlings into the last sleep,
when we are overwhelmed with physi-
cal OlSlroSS0S, Wnen We are peTpleXtO
about what next to do, when we come
into combat with the king of terrors,
we want a God close by. How do o
like the doctrine Of the text, Bound
in the bundle of life with the Lord thy
Code" Thank you, Abigail, kneeling
there at the foot of the mountain, ut
tering consolation for all ages, while
addressing David. No wonder hat in
after time he invited her to the palace
and put her upon h throne of his
heart as we'll as pom the throne Of
Judah.
Know, also, that this bundle of life
will be gladly received when it comes
to the door of the mansion for which
it was bound and plainly directed. With
what alacrity n glee we await some
package that has been foretold by let
ter, some holiday presentation, m
thing that will enrich and ornament
our home, some testimony of admira-
ton and affection! With what glow Of
expectation we unite the knot and take
of he cord that holds it together in
safety, and with what glad exclama-
ton we unroI the covering and see the
gift or purchase in all it's beauty Of
color and proportion. Well, what a day
it will be when your precious bundle
Of life shall be opened in the house Of
many mansions" amid sanity and an
gelic and divine Inspection! The bun
die may be spotted with the marks Of
49, SNpoooASt ! AhoS OCol 1SS III
after inscription to tell through what
ordeal it has passed, perhaps splashed
Of and scorched Of flame, but all
it has within unchanged Of the jour-
ney. And with what shouts of joy the
bundle of life will be greeted by all
the voices of the heavenly home circle!
WELCOME AWAITS.
In our anxiety at last to reach heaven
We are apt to lose sight of the glee or
welcome that awaits US il we get in at
all. We all have friends up there. They
will somehow hear that we are coming.
Such close and swift and constant COM
munication is there between those up
lands n these lowlands that we will
not surprise them by sudden arrival.
If loved ones on earth expect our COM
ing visit and are at the depot with car
riage to meet us, surely we will be met
at the shining gate by old friends now
sainted n kindred now glorified. If
: there were no angel of God to meet US