Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1901-04-24
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preach, Christ over all in it, His birth,
his srlerina his miracles. his parallels,
his sweat. hi tears, his blood, his atone
.nent, his iatercession-wh glorious
themes. Do we exercise faith? Christ
is its object. DO we have love? 1t fast
ems on Jesus. Have we a fondness for
the church: Il is because Christ died
for it. Have we a hope of heaven: 1t
is because Jesus went ahead, the herald
and the forerunner
The royal robe Of Demetrius was so
costly. so beautiful. that after he had put
it off no one ever dared put 1t on, but
this robe OF Christ, richer than that, the
poorest and the wannest and tie worst
may wear. Where sin abounded grace
may much more abound"
"Oh. my sins. my SINS said Martin
Luther to Staupitz. my sins, my sins"
The fact is that the hrawny German
student had found Latin Bible that had
made him quake, and nothing else ever
did make him quake, and when he found
how through Christ he was pardoned
and saved he wrote to a friend saying:
Come over and join us, great aud awful
sinners saved by the grace of God. You
seem to be only slender sinner. and you
don't much extol the mercy of God, but
we who have been such very awful sin
ners praise his grace the more now that
we have been redeemed Can it be that
you are so desperately egotistical that
you feel yourself in first rate spiritual
trim and that from the root of the hair
to the tip Of the toe you are scarless and
immaculate? What you need is a looking
glass, and here it is in the Bible Poor
and wretched and miserable and blind
and naked from the crown of the head 10
the sole of the foot, fri of wounds and
putrefying sores. No health in us. And
then take the fact that Christ gathered
up all the notes against us and paid
them and then offered us the receipt.
And how much we need him in our sor-
rows. We are independent of circum-
stances il we have his grace. why, he
made Paul sing in the dungeon, and I'M
der that grace St. John from desolate
patmos heard the blast of the apocalyptic
trumpets. After all other candles have
been snuffed out this is the light that gets
brighter and brighter unto the perfect
day, and after uNder the hard hoofs Of
calamity all the pools of worldly enjoy
ment have been trampled into deep mire
at the foot of the eternal rock the Chris
tian, from cups of granite. lily trimmed
and vine covered, puts out the thirst of
his soul.
Manliuess in Death.
Again, | remark that Christ is above all
in dying alleviations. l have not any
sympathy with the morbidity abroad
about our demise The emperor of Con
stantinople arranged that on the day of
l. E1,,
come and consult with him about his
tombstone that after awhile he would
need. And there are men who are mono
maniacal on the subject of departure
from this life by death, and the more
they think of it the less prepared are they
to go. This is an unmanliness not worthy
of you. not worthy of me.
Saladin, the greatest conqueror of his
day, while dying. ordered the tunic he,
had on him to be carried after his death
on a spear at the head of his army, and
then the soldier ever and anon should
stop and say: Behold all that is left of
Saladin, the emperor and conqueror, OF
all the states he conquered. of all the
wealth he accumulated, nothing did he
ret; / but this shroud." l have no SYM
patti with such behavior or such alb
surd demonstration or with much that we
hear uttered ia regard TO departure from
this life to the next. There is a common
sensical idea on this subject that you and
| need to consider. that there are only
two styles of departure.
A thousand feet underground, by light
Of torch telling in miners shaft, a ledge
of rock may fall upon u.s. and we may die
n miners death. Far out at sea. falling
from the slippery ratlines and broken on
tn. halyards. we may die a sailors death.
On mission of mercy in hospital amid
broken bones and rocking leprosies and
raging fevers we may die a phiianthro-
pst's death On the field of battle. serv-
ing God and our country, slugs through
the heart, the gun carriage may roll over
MS. and we may die patriots death But
after all there are only two STYLES of de-
parture. the death of the righteous and
Of tn" wicked, and we all N.ant to die the
form q
GoG grant that when that hour comes
you may be at home, You want the
hand of your kindred in your hand. You
want your children 10 surround you. You
want the light on your pillow from eyes
that have long reflected your love. You
want the room still. You do not want
any curious strangers standing ground
watching you. You want your kindred
from afar to hear Your last prayer |
think that is the wish OF al of us But
is that ally Can earthly friends hold us
when the pillows of death come M to
the girdle: Can human voice charm
omen heavens gatci Can human hands
pilot us through the narrows of death
into heavens harbor: Can an earthly
friendship shield us from the arrows of
death and in the hour when Satan shall
practice upon us his internal archery?
No. no. Alas. poor soul, il that is all
Better die ia the wilderness. far rom tree
shadow and far from founf aim alone,
ynltures circling through the air waiting
for our body, unknown 20 men. and to
have no burial. if only Christ would say
through the soiitudes: Il viii never leave
thee | viii never forsake thee" From
that pillow of stone a ladder would soar
heavenw0rd angels coming and going
and across the solitude and the barren
ness would come the sweet notes OF
heavenly minStrelsy.
Last Hours on Earth.
Gordon Hall, far from home dying in
the door Of heather temple. said,
Glory to thee, o God What did dy-
ing Wherefore say to his wife? Come |
and sit beside me and i,.t us talk Of
heaven. ! never knew what happiness /
was until | found Christ Whst did !
dying Hannah More say? TO ept 10 !
heaven. think what that is, 70 40 to |
Christ. W died that / might live. oh, |