Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1901-12-26

needed to learn that lesson of reverence,
as we all need to learn it. 1rreyerence has
cursed all nations, and none more than
| our own. Irreverence in the use of Gods
| name. Hear you it not on the streets and
in social groups, and is not a profane word
sometimes thought necessary to point 10.
| costly? Irreverence for the Scriptures,
the phraseology of the Bible often intro
duced into the most frivolous conversation
and made mirth provoking. Irreverence
for the oath in courtroom or custom house
| or legislative hall by the conventional and
Irreverence for the holy Sabbath by the
way it is broken in pleasure excursion and
carousai. Irreverence on the part of chill.
dren for their parents, insolence being
substituted for obedience. Irreverence for
rulers, which induces vie cartoons and as
sasslnatlon. lrreverence in church during
prayer, measuring off song and sermon by
cold, artistic or literary criticism, and in
prayer time neither bowling the head nor
bending the knee nor standing as one does
in the presence of earthly ruler, thus show
ing more respect for a man than to the
King of kings. We ask not for genufex-
ions OF clrcumHexlons or prostrations. but
when prayer is offered let us either bow
the head or bend the knee or let us in
some. way prove that we are not indiffer-
ent.
No one has come to midlife who has not
been stung Of ingratitude. On the battle
field of Alma in 1854 a wounded Russian
was crying in anguish. Of thirst for water.
Captain Eddington, of the English Army,
ran to him and gave him drink. AS the
captain was running by to join his regi-
ment the wounded soldier shot him. Al
most all languages have proverbs setting
forth this perversity. English proverb,
bring up a raven and it will pick out
nTaGp11f and hrnoJ tho Gictro T&o1:.-
verb, ''The ass, after having drunk, gives
a kick to the bucket" An old proverb
says, "1f God were to be so compIacent
as to carry us on His back to Rome. we
would not thank Him for His pains if He
did not also set us down in an easy chair"
You Will never be happy in this world if
you do not do all the good you can and
look for M responsive gratitude. All the
damage [ did a man who is my enemy was
to take INN from a position where he re.
ce1ved $500 a year salary into a position
where he has ever since received $500 a
year. He never forgave me, but has pur-
sued me with pen ~vitriolic ever since.
The worst enemy you ever had is the man
YOU introduced and favored and helped.
But be not disturbed or even irritated.
You are no better than your Lord.
If the world had had any thankful ap-
probation Of His coming it would have
nlled that Bethlehem caravansary with
"iiiSh blOOI1 tuSIc CiSdi on lnCO
the December month, and Herod, instead
of attempting His death. would have sent
a chariot to fetch the infant to the palace.
and the oyer and terminer of Pilates
courtroom would have pronounced Him
not guilty. n instead of a cross and a
crown OF thorns it would have been a coro-
nation. with all the mighty ones of the
earth k%neeling at the foot of His throne.
But closely allied is.the other fact which
we limited at in the opening-that we will
not pass this way again. This is our onlv
opportunity for doing certain things that
ought to be done. On all sides there are
srlefs we ought to s%o,ace, hunger we ought
to feed, cod that we ought to warm, kind
words that we ought to speak, generous
deeds we ought to perform. Ali that you
and 1 do toward making this world better
and happier we must do very soon or
never do at all. Joshua and his troops
never came back over the way they were
marching toward the crossing of the Jor-
dan. The impress of the sandal or the
bare feet of each soldier showed in what
direction he was going, but never did the
impress of the sandal of any one of them
show that he had returned. We are all
facing eternity to come. There is no re-
treat. Alertness and fidelity would not be
SO SO important if we could truthfully say:
neglect now [ will do the next time I come.
1 Will be relncarnated, and I will resume
my earthly obligations. Having then more
knowledge than I have now. I will dis
charge my earthly duties better than I
can now discharge them. I do not give
solemn farewell to these obligations and
opportunities, but a smiling and cheerv
goodbye until l see them again" No.
we cannot say that. There will be no new
and corrected edition of the volume OF our.
earthly lite. After we make exit from the
stage at the close Of the fifth act we can
not re-enter.
How many millions of people have lived
ana dled know not, but of all the human
race who have gone only seven persons
that | now think of have returned. the son
OF the widow at Zarephath, the young man
OF Nam, the rulers daughter, Tabitha,
Eutychus, Lazarus and Christ. Among ali
the ages to come l do not suppose there
VA y De one more who will return to this
life. having once left it.
At this point / ask you to notice the
lact that my text does not call attention
to the crossing of the Jordan. but to the
way leading thereto. We all think much
OF our crossing of the Jordan when the
march OF our life is ended. but put too lit
tie emphasis on the way that leads to the
crossing. What you and l need most to
care about is the direction of the road we
are travelling. We need have no fear of
the crossing if we come to it in the right
way. In other words, we need not care |
ABOUT death II our life has been what it
ought to be. We will die right if we live |
right.
What an absurdity it would have been
for Joshua and his men to have asked
each other questions like these: 'How can
we cross the Jordan if we get there? viii
not the water be too deep to allow us to
wade? Will we not all be so saturated
that we may lose our lives bv exposure? |
dow many of us can swim? Had we bet |
ter not wait until the annual freshet has
subsided?' No such folly did they com
NIT. They were chiefly anxious about the
way that they had mot passed before"
and were ignorant of and to keep their
eyes on the golden covered acacia box. |
wing mounted, which was the ark of the
covenant.
. nearer, stop bothering about your exit
from sub!unary scenes! BY the grace of
SOD get your heart right and then 90
ahead. If the Lord takes care of YOU clear |
on to the bank on this side of the river. I |
think you can trust Him to take you from |
bank to bank, from the willows on this |
s!Ge the stream to the palms on the other !!
SIDE. from the last kiss of sorrowing ones
this side to the welcome, sanity, cheru-
BIC, seraphic, deifc on the other side.
One Easter morning Massen the Mar
shall Of France, appeared with 5000 |
armed men on the bairhtc abo,, tbo +our, |