The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1901-09-11
SER MON BY
REV. ]. SHAPE.
Preached at the Deaw are Avenue

Preached at the Deaw are Avenu
Baptist Church, Sept. l, 1901.
Man is a creature with a shor,
memory. lie puts a book in his
pocket to remember events; a calen
dar on his desk to remember engage
ments: a string On his finger to re
member errands for his wife. NJ
one knows this creature with the
abortivc memory better than does
his Creator. Hence it comes that
God Is word to mai contains constant
reminders of the Creators goodness
and the creature duty.
The memory is the historian Of the
soul, reaching back into archives,
sometimes musty and spreading be-
fore mans wondering eyes the record
of things that one time happened and
chronicling today's events and
thoughts with surprising exactness.
What a wonderful thing 10 memory
Like some fairy spirit come to con.
duct to places and scenes forbidden
to mortals, it bids Us close our eyes
and taking our hand leads us back tc
the hills of the old farm and TO the
irksome duties and supernal pleas
ures OF boyhood's days. 1t pal,ses
not at yawning sea, but leaps the
chasm Of 5000 miles and points tc
the birth spot in the motherland. 1t
places in our hands the first bright
dollar the same hands earned and We
gaze at it las we one time did unit
it CLEANS and glisteEs with the
brightness of thousand suns.
1t conducts us to some arbored seal
in sequestered park or forest and We
WOO over again the fair creature by
our side until the waving fields and
golden tinted trees seem transmitted
into liquid glory. 1t places in ou1
hands one morning pink and white
bundle of crying potentialities and
we walk on air the rest Of the day
and on the floor the whole OF the
night.
We shut our eyes once more and
when we open them we are kneeling
by little monument and lovingly
searching amid the grass and moss
for the letters that spell our baby S
name. Memory brings up both bri.
dial and burial scenes and til ough w
fain would stay away from the spot.
of former failures and the places
that suggests the deeds we woulC
forever forget, we are held relent
lessly to the memories of the by gone
days and once more must pass along
that way.
Memory is faithful historian
not a novel writer. There is no here
| in the story to us, for the man we
are acquainted with is often another
man from the one the noyelists rave
over. See that prisoner grown sal
low in the prison light and mutter.
ing incoherentiy Jas you pass his cell:
Memory is at work. See that wei
respected citizen moving in the best
Of society in whose piety and purity
all the world believes, but who ever
and anon casts furtive glaslces al
dark places and starts at every open
ing of the door 1t is because he
alone Of all that group can interpret
the handwriting on the wall ant
memory is placing it there to his dis
comtture.
Memory records a life just as il
was lived. Not all gloomy not al
sad. Thou art the man )
| to David at the evil moment Of hi.
life and writes forgiveness" on hi!
brow when in repentance he acknow
edges his sin. 1t brings up for oul
recognition and acknowledgment
| the fugitive children of an earlier
brain and refuses to let us escape the
sound of heart beats recorded whcl
the heart was wrong.
But, memory has many good sto
res to tell us and from these we dc
well to take new lessons for new ex.
perienceS Once more we bow in
hu mble penltence at a throne OIL
grace and hear the sweetest voice in
earth OF heaven say GO and sin NJ
more. Once more We start upon
the Lords highway OF service and
beg in to lift the burdens of Other
pilgrims. Once more we taste the
sweets of divine Providence and SEE
the gathering cloud above US encircle(
with the silver band and every droE
of falling dampness changed into {
pearl Of blessing. Once more w
climb some lofty peak Of spiritual ex
perience In company with our Lore
and in the midst of the vision daz
zlng sp.eudor eXclams at is good t
be here. y Once more we 60 down il
the valley and pluck the flowers tha
line the pathway of our feet.
Memory tollsu all Of this and more
and God himself would have us moi
forget-Tne paths Of Scripture are
lined with sign boards pointing back
warl to Gods promises and forward
to the Chri stian's duty. Let US reat
for memory sake some OF those siyr
boards today.
| God himself has a good memory