Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1901-12-20

King of kings. We ask not lor gehuneA
ions or circumfexions or prostrations, put
when prayer is offered let us either DOW
the head or bend the knee or let US, US IN
some way prove that we are not lndiiier-
ent. ,,..
No one has come to midlife who has not
been stuno 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 regii-
ment the wounded soldier shot him. Al
most ali languages have proverbs setting
forth this perversity. English proverb,
"Bring up a raven and it will pick out
-FOUR ewes" Arabic proverb, EAT the
present and break the dish" italian pro-
verb. "The ass. after having drunk, gives
{. kick to the bucket" An Old proverb
says, eff God were to be so cOmplacent
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 no responsive gratitude. All the
damage did man who is my enemy was
to take him from position where he re-
ceived 800 year salary into a position
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
filled that Bethlehem caravansary with
flowers, which bloom there clear on into
the December month"; and Herod, instead
of attempting His death, would have sent
chariot to fetch the infant to the palace,
and the oyer aud terminer of Pilates
courtroom would have pronounced Him
not guilty. and instead Of cross and a
crown of thorns it would have been coro-
nation, with all the mighty ones of the
earth kneeling 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 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
and | 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 important il we could truthfully say:
ha hao lr 10 thInna |
neglect now | will do the next time come.
l will be reincarnated, and | will resume
my earthly obligations. Having then more
knowledge than / have now, | will dis
charge my earthly duties better than L
can now discharge them. | do not give
solemn farewell to these obligations and
opportunities, but smiling and CHEEKY
goodbye until [ see them again" No,
we cannot say that There will be no new
and corrected edition of the volume Of our
earthly life. 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
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 Zarephath, the young man
of Main, the rulers daughter, Tablthaa,
the ages to come | do not suppose there
will be one more who will return to this
life, having once left it.
At this point | ask you to notice the
fact 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 | 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 if our life has been what 1t
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 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
ewes on the golden covered acacia box.
wing mounted, which was the ark of the
covenant.
o hearer, stop bothering about your exit
from sublunary 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,
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 sorrowlng ones
on this side to the welcome, sanity, cheru-
bic. seraphic, deific on the other side.
One Easter morning Massena, the Mar.
slal of France, appeared with lS,0OO
armed men on the heights above the town
OF Feldkirch There were no arms to de-
fcnd the town, and the inhabitants were
Wild with terror. Then the old dean of
the church cried out: ''Nly brothers, this
is Easter day. We have been depending
on our own strength, and that fails. Let
us turn to Cod Ring the bells and have
service as usual" Then the bells rang
out sweetly and nightly from the church
towers of Feldkirch, and the people
thronged to the houses of prayer for wor-
shin. The sound of the bells made the en-
env think that the Austrian army had
come in to save the place, and Massena
and his $1,000 soldiers retreated. BY the
time the bells had stopped ringing there
was not one soldier in sight. So put your
trust in God, and when hosts OF troubles
and temptations march for your, over
throw ring all the bells of hope and faith
and Christian triumph, and the threaten,
ing perils of your life will fall back, and
your deliverance will be celebrated all up
and down the skies. The God who led you
through the way you never passed before
will be with you at all the crossings. -
[Copyright, 1901, L. Klopsch.l
NEWSY CLEANINGS.
Oil has been found three miles from