Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1899-09-29

on the WlSuOln, power Uuu eOOuh'SS W
God. Sir Charles Bell. the great Eng
ilsh anatomist and surgeon. found hiS
greatest Illustration in the cOnstruc
ton Of the human hand, deyotlng his
whole book to that subject. So won
1erful are these bodies that God names
his own attributes after different parts
of them. His omniscience-it is Gods
eye: his omnpresence-it is Gods ear:
his omnipotence-it is Gods arm; the
upholstery of the midnight heavens
it is the work Of Gods fingers; his life
giving power-it is the breath Of the
Almighty; his dominiOn-"the govern
ment shall be upon his shoulder"
A body so divinely honored and SO
divinely constructed. let us be care
full not to abuse 1t. When Il becomes
a Christian duty to take care of our
health, is not the whole tendency to
ward longevity? If | toss my watch
about recklessly and drop It on the
pavement and wind it up any time OF
day or night happen to think Of it and
often let 1t run down, while you are
careful with your watch and never
abuse it and wind 1t up just at the
same hour every night and put it In
a place where it will not suffer from
the violent changes Of atmosphere.
which watch will last the longerl
Common sense answers Now, the hu
man body is Gods watch. You see the
hands Of the watch, you see the face
Of the watch: but the beating Of the
heart is the ticking OF the watch. Be
careful and do not let it run down.
Sin Kills Quickly.
Again, | remark that practical re
ligion is a friend OF longevity in the
fact that it is protest against dissi'
pations, which injure and destroy the
health. Bad men and women live a
very short life. Their sins kill them
know hundreds oil good old men. but
| DO not know half a dozen bad old
men. Why? They DO not get old
Lord Byron died at Mlssolonghi at 80
years of age. himself his own Mazep-
pa, his unbridled passions the horse
that dashed with him into the desert
Edgar A. Poe died at Baltimore at IS
years Of age. The black raven that
allghted on the bust above his door
was delirium tremens-
Only this sad nothing more.
Napoleon Bonaparte lived only Just
beyond midllfe, then died at st. Hele-
M. and one Of his doctors said that his
disease was induced by excessive
snuGing. The hero of Austerlits, the
man who by one step Of his foot in the
center Of Europe shook the earth, kill
ed by a snuff box. How many people
we have known who have not lived out
half their days because Of their dissi'
pations and in1uigences. Now prac-
teal religion is protest against all
dissipations OF any kind.
But you say, professors OF re-
ligion have fallen, professors of re-
liglon have got drunk. professors OF re-
ligion have misappropriated trust
funds. professors Of religion have alb
sconded." Yes. but they threw away
their religion before they did their
morality. II man on White Star
line steamer. bound for Liverpool, In
mld-Atlantic jumps overheard and Is
drowned. is that anything against the
White Star lines capacity 10 take the
man across the ocean? And II man
iumps over the gunwale Of his religion
and goes down never to rise. is that
any reason for your believing that re-
ligion has no capacity to take the man
clear through? In the one case. II he
had kept to the steamer, his body
would have been saved; in the other
case. if he had kept to his religion, his
morals would have been saved.
There are aged people who would
have been dead % years ago but for
the defenses and the equipoise OF re-
licion. You have no more natural re-
sistance than hundreds Of people who
lie in the cemeteries today slain by
thelr own vices. The doctors made
their case as kind and pleasant as they
could. and it was called congestion OF
the brain or something else, but the
snakes and the blue flies that seemed
to crawl over the pillow in the sight
of the dellrious patient showed what
was The matter with him. You, the
aged Christian man, walked along by
that unhappy one until you came to
the golden pillar OF a Christian life
You went to the right; he went to the
left. That is all the difference be
tween you. If this religion is pro
test against all forms OF dissipation,
then it is an lllustrlous friend OF
longevity. with long life will sat
isfy him."
Worry saps viGOr.
Again. religion is friend OF longeyi'
ty i'm the fact that 1t takes the worry
out Of our temporalii.es. II is moi
work that kills men; II is worry When
man becomes genuine Christian. be
makes over to God not only his affec
tions. but his family. his business, his
reputation, his body, his mind, his soul
everything. Industrious he will be
but never worrying. because God Ii
managing his affairs. How can he
worry about business when in answer
TO his prayers God tells him when Il
buy and when to sell? And If he gain
that Is best. and If he lose. that Is best