Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1899-12-15

US all right naful! any tuluE duett'
me so much In the uncoyerlng Of Pom
peli as the account Of the soldier who
after the city bad for many centuries
been covered with the ashes anC
scorIR Of Vesuvius. was found stand
ing I'm his place on guard. hand on
spear and helmet on head. Others dec
Mt the awful submergement. but the
explorer. LOO years after. found the
body of that brave fellow in right posi-
ton. And II will be n grand thing IL
when our last moment comes. we are
found in right position toward God. on
guard and unafTrighted by the descend.
ing ashes from the mountain Of death
do not suppose that | am any more
Of a coward than most people. but de-
sleep tonight II there were any being
in all the earth with whom would
not gladly shake hands. lest during the
night hours my spirit dismissed to 9th
er realms, should. because OF my IN
forgiving spirit be denied divine for
giyeness.
But" says some woman. there Is a
horrid creature that has so Injured me
that rather than make up with her |
would die frs a" Well. sister, you
may take your choice. for one or the
other II Will be-your complete pardon
of her or Gods eternal Punishment OF
you. But" says some man, that fel-
low who cheated me out OF those
goods, or damaged my business credit.
or started that lie about me In the
newspapers. or by HIS perndy broke
up my domestic happiness. forgive him
cannot, forgive him VIII not" Well,
brother, take your choice. You will
never be at peace with God I'll you are
at peace with man. Feeling as you
now do, you would not get 80 near the
harbOr Of heaven as to see the light
ship. Better leave that man with the
God who said: vengeance is mine. !
will repay" You may say: 81 will
make him sweat for that yet. | will
make him squrm. | mean to pursue
him to the death" But you are damag-
ing yourself more than you damage
him, and you are making heaven for
your own sou, an lmpOssibility. If be
will not be reconclled to you. lie recon
ciled to him. In five or six hours 1t will
be sundOwn. The dahllas will bloom
against the western sky. Somewhere
between this and that take a shovel
and bury the old quarrel at least six
feet deep. Let not the sun go down
upon your wrath"
Renouncc Hatreds.
But" you say Il have more than !
can bear Too much is put upon me,
and | am not TO blame If | am some
what reyengeful and unrelentlng.
Then | think of the little child at the
moving of some goods from a store
The father was putting some rolls OF
goods on the chlld's arm, package after
package, and some one said, That
child Is being overloaded. and SO much
ought not to be put upon her," when
the child responded. Father knows
how much can carry" And God. oui
Father. will not allow too much i'm
position on his children. In the day OF
eternity 1t will be found you had not
one annoyance too many. not one OK
asperation too many, not one outrage
TOO many. Your Heavenly Father
knows how much you can carry
Again, we ought not TO allow the pas
sage Of the sunset hour before the dis
missal Of all our ahfronts. because We
may associate the subllmeSt action Oi
the soul with the subllmest spectacle
in nature. 1t Is a most delightsome
thing to have our personal experiences
allied with certain subjects. There Is 4
tree or river bank where God first an
swered your prayer. You will never
pass that place or think of that place
without thinking of the glorious com
munion. There was some gate or some
room or some garden wall where you
were afIianced with the companion
who has been your chief Joy In life
You never speak OF that place but
with q smile. Some of you have pleas
ant memories connected with the even
Ing star. or the moon In It's first quar-
ter or with the sunrise. because you
saw It Just as you were arriving al
harbor after a tempestuOus voyage
Forever and forever. o hearer, asso
clate the sunset with your magnani
nous, out and out. unlimited renun
clation Of all hatreds and forgiveness
Of all foes.
admit II is the most difficult or al
graces to practice. and at the start yor
may make n complete failure. but keeT
on in the attempt to practice H. Shakes
peare wrote ten plays before he reach
ed Hamlet" and II plays before h'
reached Merchant Of Venice and y
plays before he reached Macbeth.
And gradually you will come from th'
easier graces to the most difficult. BE
sides that. II Is not a matter OF per
sonal determination so much as th'
laying hold Of the almighty arm o
God. who will help us to do anything
we ought TO do. Remember that In al
personal controversies the one least t
blame will have to take the first stel
Mt paclfication II It Is ever effected
The contest between Eschlnes ant
Aristippus resounds through history
but Arstippus, who was least L
blame. went to Eschines and said
"Shall we not agree 10 be friends be
fore we make ourselves the LAUGHING
stock of the whole countryT AM
Fschines said, ''Thou art a far bette
man than |. for | began the quarre
but thou hast been the first in healln
the breach" And they were alway
friends afterward. So let the one o
YOU that is least to blame take tn
first step toward reconciliation tn
one most In the wrong viii neve
take it.
Practice Forgiveness.
oh. II makes one feel splendid [
be able by Gods help to practice III
limited forgiveness. 1t improves one
body and soul My brother. II WI
make you measure three or four moT
inches around the chest and improy
your respiration so that you can tax
a deeper and longer breath. 1t In
proves the countenance by scatterln