The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1899-01-28

miserable style puts me out of conceit
with Heaven" Lord Chesterfield in his
last moments, when he ought to have
been praying for his soul, bothered
himself about the proprieties of tbs
sickroom and said: Give Day boles a
chair" Godfrey Kneller spent his last
hours on earth in drawing diagram Of
his own monument.
Compare the silly and horrible depar-
ture OF such men with the seraphic
glow on the face of Edward Payson, as
he said in his last moment The
breezes of Heaven fan me. | float ill
sea of glory" Or with Paul. the
apostle, who said in his last hour: II
am now ready to be offered up, and the
time of my departure is at hand. /
have fought the good fight, have kept
the faith. Henceforth there is laid up
tor me crown Of Righteousness which
the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give
me-" Or compare il with the Christian
deathbed that you witnessed in your
own household. Oh, my friends, this
world is false god! 1t will consume
you with the blaze in which it accepts
your sacrifice, while the righteous
shall be held in everlasting remem-
brance, and when the thrones have
fallen and the monuments have crum-
bled and the world has persisted they
shall banquet with the conquerors OF
earth and the bierarchs OF Heaven.
This is good day in which to begin
new style Of measurement, How old
art thou? You see the Christian way
of measuring life and the worldly way
Of measuring it. leave 1t to you to
say which is the wisest and best way.
The wheel of time has turned very
swiftly, and it has hurled us on. The
old year has gone. The new year has
come. For what you and / have been
launched upon ii God only knows. Now
let me ask you all, have you made any
preparation for the future? You have
made preparation for time. my deaf
brother; have you made any prepara-
ton for eternity? Do you wonder that
when that mar on the Hudson river, in
Indignation tore up the tract which
was handed to him and just one word
landed on his coat sleeve-the rest Of
the tract beng pitched into the river
that one word aroused his soul? twas
that one word, so long, SO broad, SO
high, so deep-"eternity!" A dying
woman in her last moments said Call
it back" They said: what do you
want" Time" she said; "call it
back!" Oh, it cannot be called backl
We might lose cur fortunes and call
them back, we might lose our health
and perhaps recover it, we might lose
cur good name and get that back, but
time gone is gone forever.
Some of you during the past year
made preparation for eternity, and it
makes no difference to you really, as
TO The matter of safety, whether you
go now or go some other ycar-whether
this year or the next year. Both your
feet on the rock. the waves may dash
around you. You can say: God is our
refuge and strength-a very present
help" You are on the rock, and you
may defy all earth and hell to over
throw you. congratulate you. give
you great Joy. 1t is happy new year
to you.
can see no sorrow at all in the fact
that orr years are going. You hear
some people say: Il wish could go
back again TO buyhood." | would not
want to go back again to boy hood. |
am afraid might make worse life
out of it than l have made. You could
rot afford to 60 back to boyLood it it
were possible. You might do great
deal worse than you have done. The
past is gone! Look out for the future!
TO all Christians ii is time of glad
ness. / am glad the years are going.
You are coming on nearer home. Let
your eountenance light up with the
thought. Nearer home!
Now, when one can sooner get to tbs
center of things, is he not to be congra.-
ulated? Who wants to be always in the
freshman class? We study God in this
world by the Biblical photograph Of
Him; but we all know we can in five
minutes Of interview with friend get
more accurate idea of Him than We
can by studying Him so years through
pictures or words. The little child that
died al six months of age knows more
Of God than all Andover and all Prince.
ton and al New Brunswick.
Does not our common sense teach US
that ii Is better to be al the center than
to be clear out on the rim of the whee,,
holding nervously fast to the tire les.
we be suddenly hurled inc light and
eternal felicity? Through all kinds Of
optical instruments trying TO peer in
through the cracks and the keyholes of
Heaven-afraid that both doors OF ths
celestial mansion will be swung wide
open before our entranced vision rush
ing about among the apothecary shops
of this world, wondering If this is good
for rheumatism, and that is good for
neuralgia, and something else is good
for bad cough. lest we be suddenly
nshered into a land OF everlasting
health where the inhabitant never says:
~ am sick"
In 1888 the French resolved that at