El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1899-04-17


your favor and saps your blood. But
where is the man or woman who will
come and stand by your side when the
doors are closed and another holds the
keys to your safe? Where is the faith
full one who will come and sit by your
bedside and smoothe away the pain
from your fevered brow and aching
heart, when money and health are
gone? Where are the ardent ones who
will clasp your hand all the tighter,
and make double effort divert your
| mind and cheer your hesrt when
calumny and SANDER are logging your
tracks and public sentiment Is turned
against you? Where is the true one
who will follow you even when you
have wandered out OF the way OF right
and fallen into disgrace, and, with
hand clasped tight about your hand.
| will seek to lift you up again, bring
you back to God, and commend you
once more to a respectable public?
Show me q man Or woman like this, and
| I will show you true friend. In your
| search for cOmpe mons look well for
| these; and when you have found them.
lay hold on them with hooks of iron,
and bind them with letters of steel.
These are the golddust Of Gods richest
mines on earth; the richest treasures
OF his deepest seas; the brightest stars
of heavens transcendent lights. 0
God, give me friends like these!
Did it ever occuryou that such friend
ship is stronger than blood relation?
Our text tells us, ''There is friend
| that sticketh closer than q brother"
The relation OF brother to brother is
the relation OF flesh; that of friend to
friend is a heart relation. And rela-
| tions of the heart are always the higher.
The brother may hate, abandon and
even murder you, as we see in the case
of Cain and Abel, Absolom and Am
non, and the thousands of frstricides
that stain the pages of history; but the
| true friend. like Jonathan with David,
loves you las his own SOUL" and like
Damon with Pythius, would rather die
for you than to murder you or have
You die. Such is the endurance and
ardor of the love of true friend. It
is worth the effort of lifetime to gain
even one friend like this.
But here a bad thought. There are
doubtless many even in the audience
tonight who have no such friend, and
there are thousands who never will
have such an earthly friend. Indeed
true friendship must be won at first by
true souls and true character. But
thousands in this world have neither.
Their case is hopeless unless some
mighty soul will stoop down and touch
them a new light and a new life. But
this Is hard for any human being to do,
and alas, there are few who are willing
to make the effort.
is one who is above all others in inter-
est, position and power, who seeks to-
be your friend. And were all others
your friend, you would be ruined with
out this one. doctor, what shall I
do?" asked q sick lady of her physi-
clan, "all Of my friends are out of
town" Then the great heart of the
Christian physician replied, Take
Jesus as your friend. He is never out
true: the best friend for earth or heav-
en-" 0. how precious he has been
to his disciples on earth in seasons of
encouragement, distress, and
grief, when other friends were far
away and other helpers failed! One of
the best all-around men 1 ever had on
my board of deacons was in his young
est days superintendent of the Baptist
church Sunday school in Eminence,
Kentucky. The school was dragging.
Everything seemed to be q failure.
And he was just ready to hand in his
resignation, when some one called for
a familiar Sunday school song. And
as he listened to the words,
What friend we have in Jesus,
All our ems and griefs to bearl
What q privilege to carry,
Everything to him in prayer;
his heart took on new hope and caused
him to redouble his efforts; and he went
on to a glorious success in his work.
And how many thousands who have
found new light. new life, new hope,
new aspiration, and new determination
as they sang with Charles Wesley that
grand old song:
Jesus lover of my soul.
Let me to thy bosom fly,
While the nearer waters roll,
While the tempest still is high;
Hide me, o my Savior hide.
Till the storm of life is past;
Safe into the haven guide.
o receive my soul at last"
President Edwards when he came to
die, said goodbye to his relatives and
then exclaimed "Now where is Jesus
of Nazareth, my true and never failing
friend!' And then he fell asleep Tin
the arms of Jesus.'
o, friends bring you this fever
present, ever true" and 'never-failing
friend. Others may be unwilling or
unable to help you. But Jesus is a
friend who is both willing and able to
save. Will you receive him to night?
God help you.
A DDChRCIII Dim AM Az