Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1900-06-22


three-fcurths OF the families OF the
earth in deSolation. The air IS rent
with farewells. and the black tasseled
vehicles Of death rumble through every
street. The body OF the child that was
folded so closely to the mothers heart
Is pat away I'm the cold aud the dark
ness. The laughter freezes TO the girls
| LID. and the rose scatters The boy In
tue harvest field of Shunom says. MY
| head. my headr' end they carry him
home 60 die on the lap Of his mother.
Widowhood stands with tragedies OF
woe struck into the pGllor OF the
/ check. Orph3nsge cries in vain for
| father and mother. oh. the grave Is
I cruel With teeth OF stone it clutches
! for its prey. netween the closing gates
of the sepulcher our hearts are man
! sled ana crushed.
God Always Present
is there any earthly solace? None.
we come 70 the obsequies. we sit with
the GRIEF stricken. we talk pathetically
To their soul. but soon the obscuu;es
nave passed. the carriages have left us
az the door. the friends who staid for
Few days are gone. and the heart sits
IN desohtiOn listening for the little feet
that will never again patter through
the hail or looking for the entrance OF
those who will never come again, sigh
ing into the darkness. ever and anon
coming across some book or garment or
little shoe or picture that arouses for.
mer association. almost killing the
heart; long days and nights OF suffer
ing that wear out the spirit and OK
punge the bright lir'es &C life and give
hagGartlRess 10 the and draw the
hesh tight down over the cheek bone
snd draw dark lines under the sunken
rye. and the hand is tremulous. and the
voice is husky and uncertain. and the
Erief is wearing, grinding, accumulate
Ing. exhausting.
Now. what are such to do? Are they
| merely To look up into brazen and IN
plying sky? Are they TO walk blast
ed heath unfed of stream. uusheltered
by overarching trees2 Has God turned
Us out on the barren common to die?
Oh. no. no. no. He has not He comes
with sympathy and kindness and love.
He understands all our grief. He sees
the height and the depth and the length
and the breadth of it. He is the only
one that can fully sympathize. Go and
tell Jesus. Sometimes when we have
trouble we go to our friends. and we
explain it, and they try to sympathize.
but they do not understand it. They
cannot understand IL. But Christ sees
al over it and all through it. He not
only counts the tears and records the
groans, but before the tears started.
before the games began. Christ saw
the inmost hiding place of your SORROW.
and he takes il. and ne weighs il. and
lie measures it. and he Dities it with an
all absorbing pity. Bone of our bone!
Flesh of our flesh. Heart of our heart
sorrow OF our sorrow. As long as he
remembers Lazarus grave he will
stand by you in the cemetery. As long
as he remembers his own heartbreak
he will stand by you i'm the liberation
OF your affections. When he forgets
the footsore way, the sleepless nights.
the weary body. the exhausted mind.
the awful cross, the solemn grave. then
he viii forget you. but not until then.
Mighty 60 Save.
Often when we were in trouble we
sent for our friends, but they were far
away. They could not get to'us. We
wrote TO them. Come right away" or
teiegraphcd, Take the next train"
They came 1T last. yet were n great
while in coming or perhaps were too
late. But Christ is always near-before
you, behind you, within you. No moth
er ever threw her arms around her
child with such warmth and ecstasy of
affection as Christ has shown toward
you. Close mt hand, nearer than the
staff upon which you lean. nearer than
the cup you put to your lip. nearer than
the handkerchief with which YOU wine
away your tears, preach him an ever
present, all sympathizing, compassion
ate Jesus. How can you stay away
one moment from him with your
griefsg Go now. Go and tell Jesus.
1t is often that our friends have no
power 10 relieve us. They would very
much like TO do IL. but they cannot dis
entangle our finances, they cannot cure
our sickness and raise our dead. but
glory be TO God that he TO whom the
disciples went has all power In heaven
and on earth, and ut our call he will
balk our calamities and at Just the
right time, in the presence OF an ap-
p!aud!ng earth and n resounding heav-
en-, viii raise our dead. lie is mightier
than Eercd. He is swifter than the
Storm He Is grander than the sea. He
Is Vaster than eternity. And every
sword OF Gods omnipotence will leap
from its scabbard and all the resources
OF inhnity be exhausted rather than
that Gods child shall not be delivered
when he cries TO him for rescue. SUP
| s.l,f n -,
much would you endure to get him
outF You would so through any hard
ship iou would say: ~ don't care
what 1t will cost. must get him out
OF that trouble" Do you think God Is
not so good father as you? Seeing
you are In trouble and having all DOW
err. VIII be not stretch out his arm and
deliver you2 He will He is mighty
TO save. he can level the mountain
and divide the sea and can extinguish
the lire and save the soul. Not dim OF
eye not weak OF arm, not feeble of re-
sources. but with all eternity and the
universe ut his feet. Go and tell Jesus.
WIN you? Ye whose cheeks are wet
with the night dew OF the grave, We
who cannot look up. We whose hearts
are dried with the breath of sirocco, in
the name OF the religion OF Jesus
Christ. which lifts every burden and
wipes away every tear and delivers ev-
cry captive and iightens every dark
ness. implore you now so and tell
Jesus.
Trust I'm the Lord.
A little child went with her father, a
sea captain, 10 sea, and when the first
storm came the little child was very
much frightened and In the night rush
ed out OF the cabin and said. Where is
Gather. where is father?" Then they
told her, Father is Gu deck guiding the
vessel and watching the storm" The
little child Immediately returned TO her
berth and said. Its all right, for IA