The gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1881-1911, 1900-11-29

J 3
Let us now praise famous men. and
our fathers that begat us
| There be OF them that have left Il name
behind them, that their praise might he
reported.
Their bodies are buried in peace but
! their maine liycth for evermOrn.
Wisdom Of Jesus the Son OF Srach, or
| Eccleslasticus. Chapter XLIN. l. =. II
l. reverence and love for the de-
/ parted are natural to every generou.
heart. Honor thy father and thv
mother, Is 4 commandment 50 closely
related to the first table that it's sane
tions seem not limited bv the term Of
this natural life. but reach back ward
into that past by which we are linked
with the purpose Of God. They
surely only increase in honor when
they have been taken to the higher
! life.
l. This honor we pay to them as,
under God, the authors Of our present
HE. W hat a wonder, what a mvs-
terry, what an amazing gift is life.
How does not our heart swell with
thankfulness for this wonderful cx-
istcnce, with all its powers and OPP
pOrtunjties. And how do affection
and love and the mutual interchange
Of domestic and social offices multi
ply the occasions and experiences Of
joy and happiness. In spite of all
dismal contentious Of pcs>imism and
through all its experiences OF strug-
giles and pain. and disappointment
life Is great treasure, Il greet hap
piness. great opportunity. And
the gift OF life itself, and the expert
ences of its greatest happiness, come
to us from our parents, as GOd's chan
nels OF life and influence; and they
are associated in our minds with
Gods good purposes, and with His
paternal government. We rightly
adOrn their memories, and deepen
our feelings Of yencration and love for
them, when they have departed out
of this life, by setting forth their
praises and remembering their good
deeds. They are heroes and saints to
us. Sad is his lot who cannot honor
and love and glory in the memory OF
father and mother.
2. But not only have our natural
parent. thus given us life with all its
blessings, they, as representing the
generation preceding us, have been
the channel through which have come
to us all the achievements Of human
ity during its long course and strug-
gle through failure to triumph. How
do we come to be the possessors OF all
the treasures of knowledge, of art, OF
science, of civilization? They have
come to us from our fathers. A few
eminent names here and there along
the darkening backward vista stand
out associated with some special
triumph of man in knowledge or in
practical achievement, but consider
all that has been done to raise man
from his natural condition Of ignOr-
ance, helplessness and destitution,
and think how little we are able to
know hOlC it all has been done. And
in truth no one can claim the credit.
1t has been the common suffering.
the common struggle, the common
toll and patience and self-sacritice of
all the millions gone before, which
have conquered the world Of nature,
and in the working out Of Gods prov
idence made the world of civil and
social and domestic institutions for
us. In this great work all true and
honest lives have borne their part,
and it is because of this vast heritage
borne down to us that we honor and
praise the dead which are dead, more
than the living. We may trust to
carry on their work. and to deserve
Of 3f q r
; US, but in the mean time. the dead
represent the heroes, the benefactors,
the makers of our world, and we
cherish their memories for all the
good things we have received of
them.
;. And besides natural life. and
the blessings and riches and accumu-
lated treasures of the ages, we owe to
them our spiritual life and knowledge.
Much AS we NAV value what God does
for Ii. individually, and sweet as may
be the communings of the soul with
God, and invaluable as may be the
lessons learned and the strength
acquired in our own spiritual eNper-
icnce vet the great things Of God
come down to us through the life and
experience of tie past. I'VE have
, heard with our ears, O God, and our
fathers declared unto us the noble
deeds Thou didst in their days, and
in the old times before them"
la). As matter Of fact we learned
the first truths and the first duties OF
Christianity from our progenltors'
and holding bv our fathers hand we
took our first steps in the Heavenly
way, and at our mothers knee We
first learned to say. ''Our Father
which art in Heaven.
(b). The very Word of God comes
down to us from the past. Those
: who have gone before have preserved
it. and delivered it to us. God hath
ordained it so.
(c). The influence Of the past upon
our spiritual life and development is
vastly greater and more important
than we commonly realize. 1t Ii
probable that the general atmosphere
spiritual and intellectual. in which we
live. has in the end more to do in the
: outcome of our life than even the in
tluence Of the best and most Cody
e parents The truth is made known
$ to man in personal experience and II
;. the revealed Word. That truth ha:
relation to our intellectual view o
things-and to our duties in the man
fold relationships and activities o
life. And.that it may not be absorbed
into life and these dissipated. mel
are organized for spiritual purpose
/. into the church, which preserves tn,
Truth, that we may see that, though