Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1901-10-04

stis never WIS JttiOuS Oh tudu VI
woman who tried TO heal wounds and
wipe away tears and lift burdens and
save souls, and while all Is OF grace
and your self ADVOCATING utterance win
be. Not unto US. not unto us, but unto
thy name. o Lord. give gloryp you
shall always feel heavenly satisfac-
tion In every good thing you did on
earth, and IL iconoclasm, borne from
beneath. should break through the gates
OF heaven end efface one record OF
your earthly fidelity methinks Christ
would take one OF the nails OF his own
cross and write somewhere on the
crystal or the amethyst or the jacintb
or the chrysoprasus your name and
just under 1t the Inscription OF my
text, 1.-The righteous shall be held 10
everlasting remembrance" oh, this
character bulldingl You and I are ev-
cry moment busy la that tremendous
occupation. You are making me bet
ter or worse. and am making you bet
ter or worse. and we shall. through all
eternity, bear the mark Of this benc-
diction or blasting. Let others have
the thrones Of heaven, those who have
more nightly wrought Cor God aud
| the truth, but it viii be heaven enough
for you and me II ever and anon we
meet some radiant soul on the boule-
wards OF the great city who shall say:
You helped me once. You encouraged
me when l was In earthly struggle. |
do not know that would have reached
this shining place had II not been for
you," and we wiz laugh with heavenly
slice and say: TIA. hal Do you really
remember that talkG DO you remem.
her that wsrEngg DO you remember
that Christian invitation2 What 4
memory you have. Why. that must
have been down there in Washington
or New Orleans at least ten thousand
million years ago" And the answer
VIII be, Yes. 1t was as long as that
but remember Il as well as though II
were yesterday"
Oh. this character buildingi The
I structure lasting independent OF pass
| ing centuries. independent OF crumbiine
mauSolcums, independent OF the whole
/ planetary system. Aye. IL the material
universe, which seems al bound to
gether like one piece OF machinery
should some day meet with an accident
that should send worlds crashing into
each other like telescoped railway
trains, and all the wheels OF constella-
lions 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
Ashtabula, that would not touch us and
would not hurt God, for God is spirit,
and character and memory are immor-
tai, and over that grave OF a wrecked
material universe might truthfully be
written. 1.-THE righteous shall be held
IN everlasting remembrance" o Time,
we defy thee! o Death. we stamp thee
in the dust of thine own sepulchers! o
Eternity, roll on till the last star has
stopped rotating and the last sun is ex-
tinguished on the sapphire pathway.
and the last moon has illumined the
last night, and as many years have
passed as nll the scribes that ever took
pen could describe by as many figures
as they could write in all tho centuries
OF all time, but thou shalt have no pow
or to efface from any soul in glory the
memory of anything we have done to
bring IL TO God and beavenl
There is another and a more COM
plcte defeat for oblivion, and that is
In the heart OF God himself. You have
seen n sailor roll up his sleeve and
| show you his arm tattooed with the
figure OF favorite ship, perhaps the
first one In which he ever sailed. You
have seen n soldier roll up his sleeve
| and show you his arm tattooed with
the figure OF n fortress where he was
garrisoned or the face OF n great gen.
eral under whom he fought. You have
seen many n hand tattooed with the
face OF n loved one before or after
marriage. This custom OF tattooing is
almost as old as the world. 1t is some
colored liquid punctured into the flesh
SO indclibly that nothing can wash It
out. 1t may have been there fifty
years, but when the man goes into his
coffin that picture will go with him
on hand or arm. Now, God says that
be has tattooed us upon his hands.
There can be no other meaning IN tho
forty-ninth chapter OF Isaiah, where
God says, Behold, have craven thee
on the palms of my hands," 1t was as
much as 90 say: 81 cannot open my
hand to help but think OF you. ] can
not spread abroad my hands to bless
but think OF you. Wherever I-go up
and down the heavens take these two
pictures OF you with me. They are so
inwrought into my being that / cannot
lose them. AS long as my hands last
the memory or you Will last. Not on
the back OF my hands, as though to an
nounce you to others, but on the palms
OF my hands FOR myself 20 look at and
study and love. Though ] hold the
winds In my fist, no cyclone shall up
root the inscription OF your name and
your face, and though hold the ocean
in the hollow oc my hand its billowing
remembrance. Behold, have craven
thee on the palms OF my hands,"
Eternal Remembrance.
What Joy. what honor, can there be
comparable to that OF being remember
ell 10y the mightiest and most affection
ate being IN the universe? Think of it
to hold an everlasting place In the
heart OF God! Fhe heart OF God! The
most beautiful palace in the universe
grand as that IL he can. Let him crum-
bic up all the stars OF yesternight and
tomorrow night and put them together
as mosaics for such palace floor. Let
him take ell the sunrises and sunsets
Of all the days and the auroras OF all
the nights and hang them as uphol-
stery ut its windows. Let him take all
the rivers and all the lakes and all the
oceans and toss them into the foun-
tains OF this palace court. Let him
take all the gold OF all the hills and
hang 1t in it's chandeliers and all the
pearls OF all tie seas and all the dia-
| monds OF all the fields and with them
arch the doorways OF that palace and
then invite into ali the glories that
Esther ever saw ut a Persian banquet
or Daniel ever walked among In Baby
ionian castles or Joseph ever witness
ed In Pharaohs throneroom and then
VOnrSQlf this 90