The Grenada sentinel. [volume] (Grenada, Miss.) 1868-1955, 1901-09-28

that Rev. d. Van Nranken, OF New
Brunswick Theological seminary.
wrote for me, a boy under him, when
1 was seeking a settlement in which
to preach the Gospel. That letter
gave me my first pulpit. DR.. Van
Vranken has been dead more than 80
years, yet 1 feel the touch of that
magnificent old professor. Strange
sensation was it when l received a
kind message from Rev. Thomas
Guard, of Baltimore, the great Meth
odist orator, six weeks after his
death! By way of the eternal world?
Oh, no; by way of this world. l did
not meet the friend to whom he gave
the message until nearly two months
after Thomas Guard had assembled.
So you can start a word about some
one that will be on it's travels and
vigorous long after the funeral
psalm has been sung at your obse-
quies. Kindness! Why, if so men an
aglow with it should walk through
the lost world methinks they would
almost abolish perdition.
Suppose all this assemblage and
all to whom these words shall come
by printers type should resolve to
make kindness an overarehing, under
girding and all pervadingi principle Of
their life and then carry out the res
olution. Why, in six months the
whole earth would feel it. People
would say: "What is the matter? 1t
seems to me that the world is get
ting to be q better place to live in.
Why, life, after all, is worth living.
Why, there is Shylock, my neighbor,
has withdrawn his lawsuit of fore
closure against that man, and be-
cause he had so much sickness in his
family he is going to have the house
for one year rent free. There is an
old lawyer in that young lawyers Of
flee, and do you know what he has
gone in there for? Why, he is help
ing TO fix up a case which is too big
for the Young nan to handle, and the
white-haired attorney is hunting up
previous decisions and making out a
brief for the boy. Dc you know that
a strange thing has taken place in the
pulpit, and all the old ministers are
helping the young ministers, and all
the old doctors + helping the young
doctors, and the farmers are assist
ing each other in gathering the har-
vest, and for that farmer who is sick
the neighbors have made a "bee," as
they call it, and they have al turned
in to help him get his crops into the
garner? And they tell me that the
" - c1-i1lfn1 rannrtare
who have permanent positions on pa
pers are helping the young fellows
who are Just beginning to try and dc
not know exactly how to do it. And
after a few erasures and interpola'
tions on the reporters pad they say
Snow. here is a readable account o.
that tragedy; hand it in, and ] an
sure the managing editor will TAX
it."
"And l heard this morning of a poor
old man whose three children were II
hot debate as to who should take carr
of him in his declining days. The old
est son declared that it was his right
because he was the oldest, n tn
said it was his right because
he was the Youngest and Mary said i
was her right because she better un
derstood her fathers vertigo an
rheumatism and poor spells and knew
better how to nurse him, and the onl,
way the difficulty could be settled wa
by the old mans promise that h
would divide the year into three part
and spend a third of his time with eac
one of them. And neighboring store
in the same line of goods on the sam
!, block are acting kindly to each othe1
, 1t seems to me that those words o
Isaiah are being fulfilled when h
| saws: The carpenter encouraged tn
r goldsmith and he that smoothed tn
hammer, him that smote the anvi
2 saving. it is ready for the soldering
What is the matter? 1t seems to N
our old world is picking up. Why, tn
|, millennium must be coming in. KIM
ness has got the victory"
My hearers, you know and l know W
r are far from that state of things. BIZ
= WHY not inaugurate a new dispens;
ton of geniality. If we cannot have
!, millennium on a large scale, let ,
: have it on a small scale and under oil
own vestments. Kindness! If tn
world is ever brought to God, that
the thing that will do it. You cann'
fret the world up, although you ma
n fret the world down. You came
a scold it into excellence or reform
n ton or goodness.
And while we take the matchle
o kindness from God may it be -four
d that we have uttered our last bitt'
word, written our last cutting par
y graph, done our last retaliatory actio
n felt our last revengeful heart thro
Il And it would not be a bad epitaph fl
$. any of us if, by the grace of God, fro
A. this time forth we lived such bene
II cent lives that the tombstone's CHS
!" could appropriately cut upon the pla
n slab that marks Il grave a sugge
ton from the text: "He showed us
n little kindness" But not until the la
,e child of God has got ashore from Il
W earthly storms that drove Him on t
ID rocks like Mediterranean Eurocl
., dons, not until all the thrones
Heaven are mounted, and all the &C
-, o,e oroYypa6 and all the harms q,