Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1901-11-20

Copyright. Louis klopsch. HULL
7N this discourse DIR. Talmage would
lift people out Of dependency and
q bring something of future JOY into
earthly depression. The text is He
brews vi, 10, (which hope.
There is an Atlantic ocean OF depth and
fulinpss in the verse from which my text
is taken, and | only wad. lto the wave
at the beach and take two woraS. We all
have fayOTite words expressive If delight
or abhon ence, words that easily hnd
their gay from brain TO lip, words that
have in them mornings and mldnlghts'
laughter and tears, thunaerbolts and dew
drops In all the lexicons and Yocabula-
ries there are few words that have for me
the attractions Of the last word of my
text. Which hope"
There have in the course of our life
been many angels of God thar have look
ed over our shoulders, or met us on the
road. or chanted the darkness away. or
lifted the curtains of the great future, OF
pulled us back from the precipices, or
rolled down upon us the rapturous music
of the heavens, hut there IS one of these
angels who has done so much for US that
we wish throughout all time and all eter-
nifty to celebrate 1.-THE angel OF Hope.
St. Paul makes it the center of group
Of three, saying, Now abideth faith,
hope, charity" And, though he says that
charity is the greatest OF the three, he
does not take one plume f.cm the wing,
or one ray of lnSter from the brow, or
one aurora from the cheek, or one melody
from the voice Of the angel of my text,
(which hope
That was a great night for our world
when in a Bethlehem caravansary the
Infant Royal was born. and that will be
a great night in the darkness of your soul
when Christian hope is born. There will
be chanting in the shes and star point
ing to the Nativity. | will not bother you
with the husk of definition and tell you
what hope is. When we sit down hungry
at a table, we do not want an analytical
discourse as to what bread is. Hand it
on: pass it round; give us a slice of it.
John speaks of hope as a pure hope"
Peter calls it actively hope" Paul
styles it a good hope" sure hope a
rejoicing hope" All up and down the
Bible it is spoken of as an anchor, as a
harbor, as helmet, as a door.
An Ample Deposit.
When we draw check on a bank, we
must have reference to the amount of
money we have deposited, but Hope
makes draft on bank in which for her
benefit all heaven has been deposited.
Hope May it light up every dungeon,
stand by ev. sickbed, lend a helping
hand to every. orphanage, loosen every
chain. caress every forlorn soul and turn
the unpictured room of the almshouse
into the vestibule of heaven How sug-
gestive that my thology declares that
when all other deities fled the earth the
goddess Hope remained,
1t was hope that revived John Knox
when on shipboard near the coasi of
Scotland he was fearfully i'll, and hl was
requested to look shoreward and asked If
he knew the village near the coast. and
he answered. Il know it well. for | see
the stecple of that place where God first
opened my mouth in public to his glory,
and | am fully persuaded how weak that
ever now appear | shall not depart this
life till my tongue shall glorify his holy
name in the same place" His hope was
rewarded and for twenty-five more years
he preached. That is the hope which
sustained Mr.. Morrell of Norwich when
departing this life at twenty-four years
Of age he declared. Il should like to un-
derstand the secrets of eternity before to-
morrow morning" That was the kind of
hope that the corporal had in the battle
when. after several standard bearers had
fallen, he seized the flag and turned to a
lieutenant colonel and said, IF | fall tell
my dear wife that die with good hope
in Christ and that | am glad to give my
life for my country" That was the good
hope that DIR. Goodwin had in his last
hour when he said All, is this death?
How have | dreaded as an enemy this
smiling friend!
No better medicine did man ever take
than hope 1t is a stimulant. febrifuge,
tonic, a catholicon. Thousands Of peo-
PIE long ago departed this life would have
been living to-day but for the reason they
let hope slip their grasp. have known
people TO live on hope after one lung was
gone and disease had seemed to lay hold
of every nerve and muscle and artery and
bone.
Assurances of Heaven.
Many have full assurance that all is
right with the soul They are as sure of
heaven as if they had passed The pearly
panel. OF the gate, u flough they We're
already seated in the temple of God nm
rolling II lihretto of the heavenly choris-
ter congratulate all such. | wish had
il. 1oo-full assurance-but with ME it is
hope. (Which hope" Sinful. it expects
forgiveness troubled. it expects relief
bereft, it expects reunion; clear down. it
expects wings to lift; shipwrecked it ex-
poets lifeboat; bankrupt it expects eter-
nal riches; prodigal, it expects the wide
open door of the fathers farm house. 1t
does not wear itself ont by looking back
ward: it always looks forward. What is
the use of giving SO much time 10 the
rehearsal of the past? Your mistakes are
not corrected by a review. Your losses
cannot by brooding over them. be turned
into gains. 1t is the future that has the
most for US. and hope cheers us on. We
have all committed blunders. but does the
calling Of the roll of them make them any
the less blunders? Look ahead in all mat
tiers OF usefulness. However much you
may have accomplished for God and the
worlds betterment. your greatest useful
ness is 10 come 40" says some one.
"mv health is gone" w" says some
one, my money is gone NO says
some one, the most Of my years are gone
and therefore my usefulness. Why, You
talk ike an infidel. DO you suppose that
all your capacity To do good Is fenced in
by this life: Are you going 70 he louug-
er and do nothing after you have quit
this world$ II is my business 10 tell sou
that yoar faculties are 10 De enlarged
and intens fed anil your qualifications fer
usefufu,.ss t..s7lfirlied tcufold hundred