Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1902-07-11
the forces of the. empire have been

of surprising grandeur. The prepa-
rations went forward to the very eve
of the coronation. London's streets
had filled with the gayly-attired
guests of the nation, and a mock cere-
mony was gone through with that
each, from the king down to the wait
ing page, might know his part and
play it well, and then suddenly there
breaks on the ear of the world the sad
news from London. Sickness lays the
great king low, and his coronation is
off. The mute crowds in the streets
of London see the agnificent decora-
tionS removed, hear the sound of the
hammer and the saw as the miles and
miles OF grand stands are removed, be-
hold the special coronation ambassa-
doris depart to their respective coun-
tries. The sound of the grating key in
the doors of Westminster abbey
raSps on the ears az the vast audi
forum which was to. have been the
scene of the GROWING is closed. The
powerful feet of majestic battleships
steals out of the harbor. The hotel
men and the tradesmen and the in
surance companies face heavy loss
instead of the harvest of golden coins.
London is left in her gloom. The
world reads the sad story, but will it
learn the lesson? As you read the
story, the shock of the distressing ca
lamity bears in upon your soul and
makes you think for the moment, but
will you learn the lesson? Listen to
the voice of God: eye know not what
shall be on the morrow. For what is
your life? It is even a vapor, that APP
peareth for a little time, and then
vanisheth away"
All the kings power and all the
| kings wealth, all his influence, all tie
| wisdom of his statesmen, all the skill
of his physicians, all the devotion of
his subjects, all the strength of army
and navy, all the sympathy of the ma
tions of the earth, cannot stay the
march of the disease that places the
monarch on a bed instead of in the
waiting coronation chair. Can you be-
| hold such spectacle, can you thus
stand before such impotency and weak
| ness, and turn with untouched heart
from the message of God as He de-
clares that your life is but a vapor
that appeareth for little time
and then vanisheth away? Can you
stand before that silent ruin of ST.
buildings and it's pail of volcanic dust
| covering the crushed and blackened
| bodies of thousands upon thousands
| of strong men, and fair women, and lit
| tie children, and be unmoved by the
uncertainty of life? Again hear God
speak: Boast not myself of to-mor-
row; for thou knowest not what a day
may bring FORTH"
In this modern day in which you and
I live the island of the sea has thun-
dered forth a message which has
echoed throughout the world, telling
the madly-rushing nations of the I'M
certainty of life. The nations repre-
sentatives have gathered while the
warning of Mont Pelee was still ring
| ing ia their ears and have stood bowed
before the sick bed of king, instead
| of paying him homage as he sat with
a magnificent crown upon his head in
| the coronation chair, and have turned
away realizing how powerless and
weak the human arm is, and that life
is indeed but vapor, that appeareth
| for a little time and then vanisheth
away. In the name Of the Lord, who
loves you with a love unspeakable.
learn the lesson of the hour before it
| is too late, and link your life into the
| latter thought of our text: eff the
Lord will, we shall live, and do this, or
that
Planning With God.-It is a blessed
! thought full of inspiration and comfort
| that in Christ Jesus we become linked
with God in a copartnership relation
which it is our privilege to realize in
the everyday affairs of home, the
shop, the office, the profession, every
where, and wherever God has set our
feet and called us to labor. If we are
kept by the power of God and realize
| it, we can serve and plan with an eye
single to His glory and know that come
what may we are in the hollow of the
hand of the Almighty God and nothing
can remove us. Misfortune may rob
US of every earthly possession, but we
are still rich in Him and heir to the
wealth of Heaven. Calamity may come
and the fire of a Mont Pelee may en-
wrap US, but it is only to be set free
from the prison house of this body and
| to be forever with the Lord. Sickness
NAV come, or cruel accident, and lay
us low upon our beds, but again we can
sing that we are more than conquer
| ors through Him that loved us and
gave Himself for us, and can make
the sick bed and the racked body sure
stepping stones to the carrying out of
the plans we have made with God. Oh!
it is blessed indeed, by the will of God,
to do this or that, if we live. 1t is
weary struggle to plan and work alone.
| No wonder we hear on every hand the
discouraged cry: ''Is life worth liy-
ing?" Apart FROM God it is not. 1t is