Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1899-03-17

longest lire on eaftn j. not ulOIe tudu a
minute. What are we doing with that
minute2 Are we imbittering the dones-
tic or social OF political fountains or
are we like Moses, who. when the Israel
ties in the wilderness complained that
the waters of Lake Marah were bitter
and they could not drink them, their
leader cut eff the branch Of certain
tree and threw that branch into the
water, and it became sweet and slaked
the thirst Of the suffering host Are we
with a branch of the tree Of life sweet
ening all the brackish fountains that we
can tcuchl
Dear Lord, send MS all out on this
mission. All around us imbittered lives
-imbiuered by persecution. imbitter-
ed by hypercriticism, imbittered by poy-
erty, imbittered by pain, imbittered by
Injustice imbitteIed by sin. Why not
20 forth and sweeten them by smiles, by
inspiring woids. by benefactions, by
hearty counsel, by prayer by gospelized
behavior Let Us remember that If we
are wormwood to others we are worm
word to ourselves, and oCr life will be
bitter and our eternity bittorer The
gospel of Jesus Christ is the only sweet
ening power that is sufficient. ltsweet-
ems the disposition, it sweetens the man
ners. it sweetens life, it sweetens mys-
terious providences, it sweetens aifiic-
tions. it sweetens death, it sweetens ey-
erything. | have heard people asked in
social company. IF you could have
three wishes gratified, what would your
three wishes be-" If | could have three
wishes met tell you what they would
be. First, more Of the grace Of God;
second, more Of the grace Of God; third.
more Of the grace Of God.
The OvershndowIng Tree.
In the dooryard Of my brother John,
once missionary in Annoy, China, there
was a tree called the emperor tree, the
two characteristics Of which are that il
always grows higher than its surround
ings, and its leaves take the form of a
crown. If this emperor tree be planted
beside a rosebush, it grows little
higher than the bush and spreads out
above it a crown. II it be planted by
the side of another tree. it grows lit
tie higher than that tree and spreads
above it crown. Would God that this
religion of Christ, more wonderful
emperor tree, might overshadow all
your lives Are you lowly in ambition
or circumstance, pntting over you its
crown; are you high in talent and posi-
ton. putting over you its crown: Oh,
for more Of the saccharin in our lives
and less of the wormwood!
What is true Of individuals IS true Of
nations. God sets them mp TO revolve
as stars. but they may fall wormwood.
Tyre-the atmosphere Of the desert,
fragrant with spices coming In cara
vans to her fairs; all seas cleft into
foam by the keels Of her laden merchant
men; her markets rich with horses and
camels from Togarmah; the bazaar
filled with upholstery from Dedan, With
emerald and coral and agate from Syria
with mines from Helbon, with embroid-
cred work from Ashur and Chilmad.
Where now the gleam Of her towers
where the roar Of her chariots, where
the masts Of her shipsl Let the fisher
men who dry their nets where once sht
stood. let the sea that rushes upon the
barrenness where once she challenged
the admiration Of all nations, let the
barbarians who set their rude tent'
where once her palaces glittered an
swer the questions. She was star but
bv her own sin turned to wormwOod
and has fallen.
Hundred gated Thebes-for all tim
TO be the study Of antiquarian anC
hieroglvphist. Her stupendOls ruin
spread over % miles her sculptures
presenting in figure of warrior anc
chariot the victories with which th'
now forgotten kings Of Egypt shook th'
nations; her obelisks and columns har
max and Luxor. the stupendous temples
Of her pride Who can imagine th'
greatness of Thebes in those days whel
the hippodrome rang with her sport
and foreign royalty bowed at he
shrines. and her avenues roared VIII
the wheels Of professions in the wake o
returning 'conquerorsy What dashe'
down the vision Of chariots and temple
and thronesl What hands pulled upol
the columns Of her gloryg What ruth
lessness defaced her sculptured wall an
broke obelisks and left her indescribabl
temples great skeletons Of granite
What spirit of destruction spread IN
lair of wild beasts in her royal sepul
chers and taught the miserable cottag
ers Of today to build huts in the court
Of her temples and sent desolation an
ruin skulking behind the obelisks' an
dodeing among the sarcophagi. an
leaning against the columns and stooI
ing under the arches, and weeping /
the waters which 90 m0urnfully by a
though they were carrying the tears 9
all agesy Let the mummies break thei
long silence and come up to shiver
the desolation and point to fallen gate
and shattered statues and defaced sculI
ture. responding: "Thebes built not on
temple to God. Thebes hated righteous
ness and loved sin. Thebes was a stan
but she turned to wormwood ard ha
fallen.
The Lesson of Babylon's Fall.
Babylon, with her $50 towers and he
brazen gates and her embattled walls
the splendor of the earth gathered with
in her gates, her hanging gardens bull
by Nebuchadnezzar to please his bride
Amytis, who had been brought up IN
mountainous country and could not en-
dure the nat country around Babylon
These hanging gardens built terrac
above terrace, till at the height Of 40
feet there were woods waving and four
tains playing, the verdure, the foliage
the glory, looking as if mountain wer
on the wing On the tiptop king wall
ing with his queen among the statues
snowy white. looking up at bird
brought from distant lands and drinI
ing out of tankards Of solid gold or loci
ing off over rivers and lakes upon ni
tions subdued and tributary. crying
'Is not this great Babylon which hay
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