The Washburn times. [volume] (Washburn, Wis.) 1896-1976, 1900-01-03

story of our life, however insignificant 1T
may seem to be, will win the applause or
hiss of a great multitude that no man
can number.
While reading my text the fourth time
[ bethink myself that the story Of life
will end when the group breaks up. The
stale that is told" stops when the listen
ers depart. Sometimes we have been III
groups interestedly listening to some story
told when other engagements or the hour
Of the night demanded the going of the
guests. That stopped the story. BY this
exit of another year am reminded thaS
these earthly groups will break up. NO
family group or social group or religious
group or political group stays long to-
gether. Suppose some one should take
from the national archives the roll of yon-
der United States Senate chamber or
the roll of yonder House Of Representa-
tives as it was made up twenty years
ago and then call the roll The silence
would be mightier than the voices that
would hear and respond. e
The family group breaks up. Did you
ever know a household that for twenty
FIVE years remained intact? Not one.
Was there ever church record the same
after the passage of twenty-five years or
fifteen years or ten years? The fact IS
that the story Of our life will soon end
because the group of listeners will be
gone. So you see if we. are going to give
the right trend and emphasis we must
give it right away.
My text, in referring to the years, re-
minds me that in twelve hours this year
will forever have gone away. Ninety
nine out of the hundred years of this CEN
tury will have disappeared. We have only
one year of the century left. There ought
to be something especially suggestive III
the last year of century. 1t ought to
be a year of unparalleled industries, Of
unheard-of CONSIDERATION. Not a person in
any Of our audiences this day can remem-
Der the first year of this century. Not
person in any of. our audiences to-day,
will ever again see the last year of a
century. 1eil atf st aa1@ ,tl
5 The Usefulness of Death.
i Oh, crowd this last year with prayers,
with, hosannas, with Kind words, with
.helpfulness. Make the peroration of the
century the climax of Christlike deeds.
Close up the ranks Of God and during
this remaining twelve months charge
nightly against the host Of Abaddon.
Have no reserve corps. Let swiftest Cos
pei cavalry gallop, and heaviest moral
artillery roll, aand mightiest evangelistic
batteries thunderJon the scene. Let min
listers Of the gospel quit all controversy,
with each other, and in solid phalanx
march out for the worlds idisinthrall-,
ment. Let printing presses, secular and
religious, make combined movement to
Instruct and emancipate the world. On
all The" hills letstheres be Elijah, praying
for fla great rain, - and ON every, contest
ed field Joshnas to sees that final victory
is gained before the sun goes down and
every mountain becomes''a transfgura-
.tion,ni and every GaHlee a walking place
of him Who car hush atempest. Let us
be jealous of every month, OF every week,
of every day that passes without some
thing Significant and glorious wrought for
God and this sin. cursed world. Let our
churches be thronged with deyout assem-,
blages.s Let the chorals be- more like
grand marches than reGuiems. Let this
coming year see the last wound of Trans
vaal and Philippine conflict, and the earth
quake with grounding arms of the last
regiment ever to be marshaled, and the
furnaces of the foundries blaze with the
fires that shall turn the last swords into
plowshares. gsFn4
And may all those whose lives shall go
out in this last year Of a century, as
many WILL meet in the heavenly world
those who in1the morning and MONDAY of
this hundred years toiled and suffered for
the worlds salvation, to tell them how
much has been accomplished for the glory
of him whose march through the last
nineteen centuries and through all the
coming centuries the Scriptures describe
as going forth ''conquering and to con-
quer." Oh, the contrast between that
upifted spectacle of eternal triumph in
the presence of God and the Lamb and
these earthly scenes, where I'VE spend
our years as tale that is told"