Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1902-08-08

ingiy helpless disciples whose earthly
pilgrimages are nearly ended.
The aged Christian Is living evil
dence that for most of us earthly life
is 10 be very short. Therefore what
we are TO do for Christ we must do
soon or we shall never be able to do IL
al all Sixty or seventy or eighty years
are very long time to live, but most
OF us VIII never live SO long. Ave. most
or us will never reach even middle life
III you speak To an aged Christian. Won
VIII lind that he is like a November
leaf, hanging almost solitary and alone
atter the thousands and the tens of
thousands of autumnal leaves have
been torn from their branches by the
equinoctial winds. You will find that
most Of his contemporaries died when
he was comparatively young. that
nearly all the rest died when he was
| in middle life and that only very
few companions OF his youth are alive
to walk by his side. The statisticians
declare that a third of the human race
! die IN infancy. At least one-third of
the remainder die before twenty-one
years OF age have been reached. and
/
| lily live 10 be sixty years of age or
over. So the mere presence in this
world of an aged Christian. with %
or 81 per cent OF his contemporaries
gone. is a perpetual warming that we
must be about our Fathers business
or the death summons VIII come and
we shall find that we have accomplish
I'd nothing.
The Present Is the Time.
The aged Christians ought to appeal
to US in the same way that the final
review of the Potomac army appealed
to the spectators in Washington i'm
1868. In that passing army the places
of the dead were kept vacant. AS reg
iment after regiment and brigade after
brigade marched past the president of
the United States there were in some
Sles only ten or fifteen men. The va
can't places showed that hundreds
upon hundreds and thousands upon
thousands of soldiers who went forth
TO battle never came back. Those
ragged lines and those torn battleflags
showed that there was another great
army of the Potomac that day sleep
Ing In its grave trenches. AS the little
band of aged Christians marches past
us today we see that 1t IL mere rem
nant OF great host which once start
ed out rrsrching side by side. The
white lips of the dead as well as the
trembling lips Of the living Christian
veterans beside us are speaking en-
trey different words from those with
which the Grecian philosopher fright
ened the trembling Athenians. The
dead lips of the aged Christian con-
temporaries are saying to us: 'Most OF
you will never be old men. Most of
you will never be old women. Most
Of you will die in your youth or in
middle life. Therefore, what you are
to do for Christ you must do soon or
you will never do it at ALL"
Perhaps this may be chImerical
fancy, but l believe that some of our
aged Christians now living may be
lingering upon this side of the river
OF death in order to carry to heaven to
our departed loved ones the latest
news about the dear ones on earth.
You know the Bible declares that the
celestial messengers are continually
earth and heaven. Jacobs dream was
not all fanciful dream. The sleeping
son OF Isaac saw the angels ascending
ana descending. the ladder which con-
nected earth with heaven. So believe
that the aged Christians are lingering
this side of the Jordan for awhile i'm
order to carry the gospel news about
ourselves TO our loved ones. / remem-
Der well when n dear old elder of the
brooklyn Tabernacle was dying my
rather turned TO him and said: well.
Nichols, goodby for little while.
We shall soon meet again. But, as
you are going ahead OF me TO the celcs-
tial land. will you hunt up my boy De
Witt and give him my love?" And the
old dying elder said, "Yes, DR.. Tai
mage, i WILL | will" When the Wild
over Bishop Haven was dying, he
turned to his mother and said: Moth
err, after l have first seen the Lord /
shall want to hunt up my dear Wife.
/ shall give to her your love. Then
shall want to rest for the first thou
sand years in the green pastures by
the side of the still waters, with my
head In the lap of my Mary"
Messengers TO the other Side.
. And il some of our aged Christian
friends are waiting for little while
in order TO carry the latest gospel news
TO the dear ones on the other side of
the Jordan, what will they be able to
tell our fathers and mothers, our broth
ers and sisters, our wives and little
children, who have gone beyond and
are awaiting our coming? VIII they
be able TO tell them that you and love
the Lord Jesus? Will they be able TO
tell our loved ones that they must keep
place by their side for us in one of
the heavenly mansions? oh, my
brother and sister, l see by the tears
In your eyes that you are anxious.
awfuily anxious, in reference 80 the
message which our aged Christian
friends shall have TO bear. Shall we
plead with God that our dear aged
friends may be allowed to live Just
little while longer so that we all
may. here and now, give our hearts TO
Jesus? Then, We aged Christian
friends, carry the news as soon as YOU
may to that bright and happy land.
Carry the news that, by the blood OF
Christ, we have all been cieansed from
sin. Tell them that we have all been
purged with hyssop until we are clean.
That we have been washed until we are
whittier than snow.
Ihat was significant experience
that Archbishop Leighton had in one
OF his illnesses. 1t was thought that
he was dying, but, in answer to the
flf-1x 80 la
from the threshold of the grave. But
the good man did not share the glad
ness or his friends. He said: 81 did
not want to get well. am an old man. |
and most OF my friends are on the |
other side. In my last sickness / felt
1 was like weary mariner sailing |
over the sea. I was coming near the |
narbor or peace. / could see a great |
host OF my departed loved ones COM |
ing down to the shore and waving TO |