The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1900-10-04


kin, until they have all looked into the
grave. So, when trouble and grief go
down through the heart of one men,
Der Of the family, they go down
through them all. The sadness of one
is the. sadness of all. A company of
persons join hands around an electric
battery; the two persons at the ends
of the line touch the battery, and all
the circle feels the shock. Thus, by
reason of the filial, maternal and pa
ternal relations of life, we stand so
close together that when trouble sets
: its battery all feel the thrill of dis
tress. In the great Christian family
the sorrow of one ought to be the sor-
row of all. Is one persecuted? All
are prosecuted. Does one suffer loss?
We all suffer loss. Is one bereaved?
We are all bereaved.
Ii you rejoice at another's misfor-
tune you are not one of the sheep, but
one of the goats, and the vulture of
sin hath alighted on your soul and not
the Dove of the Spirit. ~
Next, notice the family property.
After a man of large estate dies, the
relatives assemble to hear the will
read. So much of the property is
willed to his sons and so much to his
daughters, and SO much to benevolent
societies. Our Lord Jesus hath died,
and we are assembled to-day to hear
the will read. He says: "My peace l
give unto you." Through His apostles
He says: "All things are yours"
What, everything? Yes, everything!
This world and the next. In distin-
| guished families there are old pictures
| hanging on the wall. They are called
the "heirlooms" of the estate. They
are very old, and have come down
from generation to generation. So
look upon all the beauties of the
natural world as the heirlooms of our
royal family. The morning breaks
from the east. The mists travel up,
hill above hill, mountain above noun
tain, until sky lost. The forests are
full of chirp and buzz and song. Trees
leaf and birds wing futter with glad
ness. Honey makers in the log and
beak against the bark, and squirrels
| chattering on the rail, and the call of
the hawk out of a clear sky make you
feel glad. The sun, which kindles
conflagrations among the castles OF
cloud and sets minaret and dome
aflame, stoops to paint the lily white
and the buttercup yellow and the for
get-me-not blue. What c1n resist the
sun? Light for the voyager over the
deep! Light for the shepherd guard
ing the flocks afield! Light for the
poor who have no lamps to burn!
Light for the downcast and lowly!
Light for aching eyes and burning
brain and wasted captive! Light fol-
the smooth brow of childhood and fol
the dim vision of the octogenarian!
Light for queens coronet and for sew
ing girls needle! Let there be light!
Whose morning is this? My morning
Your morning. Our Father gave us
the picture and hung it on the sky
in loops of fire. It is the heirloom o1
/ our family. And so is the night. 1t il
the full moon. The mists from shore
; to shore CLEAN like shattered mirrors
and the ocean, under her glance
comes up with great tides, painting
upon the beach, mingling, as it were
foam and fire. The poor man blesse!
, God for throwing such a cheap light
through the broken window pane init
/ his cabin, and to the sick it seems :
!. light from the other shore which
bounds this great deep o. human pail
and woe. If the sun seem like sons
full and poured from brazen instru
, ments that fill Heaven and earth will
| great harmonies, the moon is plain
5 tive and mild, standing beneath tn
= throne Of God, sending up her soft
: sweet voice of praise, while the star
e listen and the sea. No mother eve
more sweetly guarded the sick cradl
!. than all night long this pale watche
g of the sky bends over the weary, hear
sick, slumbering earth. Whose is thi
r black framed, black tasseled pictur
n of the night? 1t is the heirloom o
n our family. Ours the grandeur OF tn
). Espring, the crystals of the snow. tn
:. coral of the beach, the odors OF tn
s garden, the harmonies Of the air.
II You cannot see large estate in on
morning. You must take several walk
!. around it. The family property of thi
+ royal house Of Jesus is so great tha
: we must take several walks to get an.
idea of its extent. Let the first wall
i be around this earth. All these va
t l1eys, the harvests that wave in ther
r and the cattle that pasture them-al
n these mountains and the preciou
d things hidden beneath them and tn
= crown of glacier they cast at the fee
;. of the Alpine hurricane-all thes
e lakes. these islands,. these continent!
a are ours. IN the second walk go anon
e the street lamps of Heaven and Sc
I stretching OF on every side wilder
It ness of worlds. Fo1 US they shine. Fo
e US they sang at Saviour's nativit,
pl For us they will wheel into line an
Q twith their flaming torches add to til
'e splendor of our triumph on the da
e for which all other days were mad
e In the third walk go around the ete1
e nal city. As we come near it, har
b to the rush Of its chariots and the wet
II ding peal. of its great towers. Th