Fisherman & farmer. [volume] (Edenton, N.C.) 1887-19??, 1901-10-10

| rolling OF the centuries can Cduidss Va
| bring down.
| Another defeat OF Oblivion will be
| found in the character of those whom we
rescue. uplift or save. Character Is eter,
| nal Suppose by a right influence we aid
in Transforming a bad man into good
| man, a dolorous man into a happy man, a
disheartened man into courageous man,
every stroke of that work done Will De nm
mortalized. There may never be 50 much
as one line in a newspaper regarding 1t or
| no mortal tongue may ever whisper 1t INTO
| human ear, but wherever that soul shall
go your work upon it shall 60. wherever
that soul rises your work on It VIII rise,
| and so long as that soul will las your
work on it will last. Do Won suppose
there will ever come such an idiotlc iause
in the history of that soul in heaven that
it shall forget that you invited him to
| Christ: that YOU, by prayer or gospel
work. turned him round from the wrong
way to the righr way No such insanity
will ever smite a heavenly citizen.
| On. this character building, Tie struc-
ture lasting independent OF passing cen
turtles. independent OF crumbing 1nauso-
| leums independent of the whole planetary
system. Ave. If the material universe,
which seems all bound together like one
| piece of machinery. should some day meet
| with an accident that should send worlds
cras hing into each other like teiescoped
railway trains. and all the wheels Of con-
| stelations and galaxies should stop. and
down into one chasm of immensely all the
suns and moons and stars should tumble
like the midnight express at Ashtab ula,
that would not touch liz and would not
hurt God, for God is spirit, and charac-
ter and memory are immortal. and over
that grave OF a wrecked material universe
might truthfuly be written, The rigkte-
Gus shall be held in everlasting remem-
brance." o tme.-we defy thee! death,
we stamp thee in the dust Of thine own
sepu,chers! 0 eternity roll on till the last
star has stopped rots ting and the last sun
is extinguished on the sapphire pathway.
and the last moon has illumined the last
night, and many years have passed as
all the scribes that ever took pen could
describe by many figures as they could
write in all the centuries OF all time. but
thou shalt have no power to Cfface from
any soul in CORY the memory OF anything
we have done to bring it to God and
heaven.
There is another and a more complete
defeat for oblivion. and that Is in the
heart OF God Himself You have seen
sailor roll M his sleeve and show YOU his
arm tattooed with the figure of favoritc
snip. perhaps the first one in which he
ever sailed. You have seen a soldier roll
uD his sleeve and show his arm tattoccd
with the figure Of fortress where he vas
garrisoned the face of great general
under whom he fought. You have seen
many a hand tattooed with the face OF u
loved one before or after marriage. This
custom OF tattOolng Is almost as Cd a. the
world. 1t is some coored liquid pune
tured into the flesh so inde.ibly that moth
there fifty wears. but when the man goes
into his coffin that picture viii go with
him on hand or arm. Now, God says that
He has tattooed us upon His hands. There
can be no other meaning in the forty-nlnth
CHAPTER of Isaiah. where God says. Be
hold. | have craven thee on the PAINS OF
My hands" 1t was as much as to say.
Il cannot open My hand to help bat I
think of You. ] cannot spread abroad My
hands to bless but | think of you. Wher-
ever | go uD or down the heavens / take
these two pictures of you with Me. They
are 50 inwrought into My being that I
cannot lose them. AS long as My hands
last the memory OF YOU Will last. Not on
the back of My hands. rs though to an
nOuncc you to others. but on the palms
OF My hands for Myself to look at and
study and love. Though l hold the winds
in NY fist. no cyclone shall uproot the in
scrlptlon OF Your name and your face, and
though ! ho.d the ocean in the hollow of
My hand its billowing shall not wash out
the record OF Ny remembrance. Behold,
I have craven thee on the palms OF My
hands.
What JOY. what honor. can there I've
comparable to that of being remembered
being in the universe? Think CT ito
hold an everlasting place in the heart or
God! the heart OF God! The most beau
tiful palace in the universe. Let the arch
angel build some palace as grand as that
if lie can. Let him crumble no all the
stars OF yesternlght and tomorrow night
and put them together as mo3aics for such
palace floor Let him take all the sun
rises and sunsets of all the days and the
aur0ras of all the nights and hang them
as upholstery at its windows. Let him
take all the rivers and all the lakes and
al the oceans and toss them into the foam
tairS of this palace court.
Oh, where is oblivion now: From the
dark and oyershadowing word that i
seemed when | began it has become some
tang which no man o. woman or child
who loves the Lord need ever fear. 90
livion defeated. Oblivion dead. Oblivion
sepuchered. But l must not be 50 hard
on that devourlng monster, Tor into its
grave go all our sins when the Lord for
Christs sake has forgiven them Just
bow a resurrection trumpet over them
when once oblivion has snapped them
down. Not one OF them rises Blow
again. Not a STIR amid all the pardoned
iniquities Of lifetime. Blow again! Not
one of them moves in the deep grave
trenches. But to this powerIess resnrrec-
ton trumpet voice responds half hu-
man, half divine, and it must be part man
and part God. saying, Their sins and
their iniquities will I remember no more"
Thank God for this blessed oblivion So
You see ] did not invite you down into a
cellar, but up on throne; not into the
to which all materia,ism is deS-
tined. but into d garden all abloom with
everlasting remembrance The frown OF
my first text has become the kiss OF the
second text. Annihilation has become
coronation. The wringing hands OF a
great agony have become the c!apping
hands of a great Joy. The requiem with
which we began has become the grand
march with which we close The tear al
sadness that rolled down our cheek has
struck the lip on whrr} sits the laughter
of eternal triumph