The Lexington dispatch. [volume] (Lexington, South Carolina) 1870-1917, 1901-12-18

ton. with all the mighty ones of the
earth knccling at the foot Of his throne.
Another discovery that surprises US
because we had not passed this way
before is the fact that il two be in
quarrel or in war with each other the
one who is the most wrong is the hard
est and the SlOwcSt to make up. Who
wrote them know not. bat | cut these
two lines out and pasted them III my
scrapbook twenty years ago. ior tie
words are 50 strikingly true:
Forgiveness to the injured DOES belong.
But they nc'cr pardon who have done the wrong.
We talk about tie great discoveries
Of the age. the electric power. the
steam power. the telescope and micro
scopic power but do not say anything
about the discoveries we all make year
by year and day by day. There are
surprises al the time. 1t is & new road
we are travelling. "Ye have not passed
this way before"
Our Only Opportunity.
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 only opportunity for doing
certain things that ought to be done.
On all sides there are griefS we ought
to solace, hunger we ought to feed. cold
that we ought to warm. kind words
that we ought to speak. generous deeds
We ought to perform. All that you ana
| do toward making this world better
and happier we must do very soon or
never do ct all. Joshua and his troops
never came back over the way they
were marching toward the crossing Of
the Jordan. The impress Of the sandal
or the bare feet Of each soldier showed
in what direction be was going, but
never did the impress of the sandal or
any one Of them show that he had re-
turned. We are all facing eternity TO
come. There is no retreat. AlertnesS
and fidelity would not be SO important
if we could truthfully say: Il Will be
back here again. The things | neglect
now I will do the next time come. l
will be rcircai mated. and ! Will resume
nv earthly obligations. Having then
more knowledge than | have row.
will discharge my earthly duties better
than | can now discharge them. | do
not give socn.n farewell 70 these ohli-
cations and opportunities, but smil-
ing and CHEEKY goolby until SEE them
again" No. we cannot say that. There
will be no new and corrected edition or
the volume Of our earthly life. After
we make exit from the stage at the
close Of the fifth act we cannot re-en-
ter. How many millions Of people have
lived and died I 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
Zarcphath, the young man Of Main, the
rulers daughter, Tabitha. EutychuS,
Lazarus and Christ. Among all the
ages to come I do not suppose there
will he one more who will return to
this life, having once left it.
Put Your Trust In God.
At, this point ask you to notice the
fact that my text does not call atten-
ton to the crossing Of the Jordan, but
to tie way leading thereto. We all
think much of our crossing Of the Jor-
dan when the march of our life Is end
ed. but put too little emphasis on the
way that leads to the crossing. What
YOU and I need most to care about is
the direction Of the road we are traV-
cling. We need have no fear Of the
crossing if we come to 1t in the right
way. In other words. we need not
| care about death if 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? Will not the water be too
deep to allow us to wade? Will we not
all be so saturated that we may lose
our lives by exposure? How many or
us can swim? Had we better not wait
until the annual freshet has subsided?'
No such folly did they commit. They
| were chiefly anxious about the way
that they had not 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.
O bearer, stop bothering about your
exit from subiunary scenes. BY the
grace of God get your heart right and
then go 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 side the
stream to the palms on the other side,
| from the last kiss of sorrowing ones
on this side to the welcome. sanity
cherubic. seraphic. deitic OH the other
side. Keep your eye on the ark. and,
whatever beudes. you will so through
all right.
One Easter morning Massena. the
marshal Of France, appeared with 49,
| 900 armed men on the heights above