The weekly intelligencer., 1899-04-01

seen we'll Gay lor many years ~
keeping out Of drafts. and by carefully
studying dietetics, yeu continue to this
time, but, oh, the the headaches, and
the side aches, aud the baekaches, and
the heartaehes which have been your ae-
compartment all the way through You
have struggled under a heavy mortgage
Of physical disabilities and instead Of
the placidity that once characterized
you, IL Is now only with great ehort
that you keep away from irritability
and sharp retort. Difficulties Of respira-
ton, of digestion, of locomotion, make
up the great obstacle in your life, and
you tug and sweat along the pathway
and wonder when the exhaustion will
end. My friends. the brightest crowns
in Heaven VIII not be given TO those
who. in stirrGps, dashed 10 the cavalry
charge. while the general applauded.
and the sound of elAshiug sabers rang
through the land. but the brightest
crowns in Heaven, l believe, will be
given to those who trudged on amid
chronic ailments which unnerved their
strength, yet all the time maintaining
their faith In God. II is comparatively
easy TO hght in a regiment Of q thou
sand men, charging up the parapets TO
the sound OF martial music, but it is not
SO easy TO endure when no one but
the nurse and the doctor are the wit
nesses OF the Christian fortitude. Be
sides that, you never had any pains
worse than Christ's. The sharpness
that stung through His brain, through
His hands, through His feet, through
His heart, were as great as yours GER
tainly. He was as sick and as weary.
Not 3 nerve or muscle or ligament
escaped. All the pangs Of all the ma
tieAs Of all the ages compressed inte
enc sour cup. He took the vinegarl
There is also the sourness of poverty.
Your income does not meet your out.
ESings, and that always gives an honest
man anxiety. There Is no sign Of deSti.
tuition about you-pleaSant appearance
and cheerful home for yon-but God
only knows what 3 time you have had
to manage your private finances. just
as the bills run up the wages seem TO
run down. You may say nothing, but
life TO you is . hard push, and when
you sit down with your wife and talk
over the expenses you both rise up dis
couraged. You Abridge here, and you
abridge there, and you get things snug
for smooth ssiling. and. 10, suddenly
there is a large doctors bill TO pay, or
you have lost your pocketbook, or some
debtor has failed, and you are thrown
abeam end. Well, brother, you are in
glorious company. Christ owned not
the house in which He stopped or the
colt on which He rode or the boat in
which He sailed. He lived in a bor-
rowed house; He was buried in bor-
rowed grave. Exposed to all kinds of
weather, yet He had only one suit
OF clothes. lie breakfasted Ia the morn
ing. and no one could possibly tell
where He could get anything to eat be-
fore night. He would have been pro-
nounced a financial failure. He had 10
perform miracle to get money to pay
tax bill. Not dollar did He own.
Priystion Of domesticiiy, priyation OF
nutritious food, privation Of comfort
able couch on which 20 sleep, priya-
tion Of all worldly resources. The
kings Of the Garth had chased chalices
out of which to drink, but Christ had
nothing but plain cup set before Him,
and It was very sharp, and 1t was very
sour. He took the vinegar.
There were years that passed along
before your family circle was invaded
by death, but the moment the charmed
circle was broken everything seemed
to dissolve. Hardly have You put the
black apparel in the wardrobe before
you have again TO take II out. Great
and rapid changes in your family rec.
ord. You got the house and rejoiced
in it, hut the charm was gone as soon
as the Grape hung on the doorbell. The
one upon whom you most depended was
taken away from you. A cold marble
slab lies on your heart to-day. Once,
as the children romped through the
house, you put your hand over your
aching head and said: "0h, IL / could
only have 1t stilli" Oh, it is too still
nowl You lost your patience when the
tops and the strings and the shells were
! left amid floor but, oh, you would
be willing TO have the trinkets scat
} tered all over the floor again IL they
were scattered by the same hands.
: With what q ruthless plowshare be-
reavement rips up the heart! But
} Jesus knows all about that You can.
! not tell Him anything new in regard
} to bereavement. He had only few
: friends, and when He lost one II
7 brought tears to His eyes. Lazarus had
i often entertained Him at his home.
= Now Lazarus is dead and buried, and
: Christ breaks down with emotion, the
; eonvulsion Of grief shuddering through
, all the ages Of bereavement. Christ
} knows what II 10 to go through the
/ house missing . familiar intimate,
! Christ knows what It is to see an unoe-
} cupied place at the table. We're there
| not four Of them-Msry and Martha
: and Christ and LszaruS2 Four Of them.
! But where is Lazarus? Lonely and af-
; ficted Christ, His great, loving eyes
: filled with tears! oh, yes, yes! He
| knows all about Loneliness and the
I heartbreak. He took the vinegar!
Then there is the sourness Of the
death hour. Whatever else we may es.
cape. that acid sponge will be pressed
TO our lips. / sometimes have q curl
oslty 10 know how will behave when
, | come TO die. Whether will be calm
or excited, whether I will be filed with
"reminiscences or with anticipation,
, cannot say. But come 10 the point /
must and you must. An officer from
the future world will knock at the door
, Of our hearts and serve on US the writ
Of ejectmeht, and We will have 10 sur
! render. And we viii wake up after
these sutumnal and wlntry and vernal
: and Eummery glories have vanished
: from our vision. We will wake up into
: a realm which has only one season and
that the season Of everlasting love.
J But You say: II don't want TO break
out from my present associations. 1t
Is SO chilly and SO damp to 20 down the
stairs Of that vault. don't want any
thing drawn so tightly over my eyes.
II there were only some way Of break
Ing through the partition between
worlds without tearing this body all to
shredsl / wonder II the surgeons and
the doctors cannot compound a mix.
ture by which this body and soul can
all the time be kept together2 Is there
no escape from this sepsration7"
None, absolutely none. A great many
men tumble through the gates Of the
future, as 1t were, and we do not know
where they have gone, and they only