Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1902-08-04

saint who Is nearing the end of life
has the clearer view of heaven. You
can speak about the goodness Of God
from personal experience, as my ia
Their spoke to me a few years before
his death by telling me this remark
able incident: When he was young
minister, he used to keep diary, in
which he made a record of all the re-
quests he made to God concerning
matters which were then weighing up
on his heart. By some mishap he lost
that diary, and he forgot about those
prayers he had offered. Some twenty
or thirty years later he found that
diary. When he opened it and read
the many requests that he had made
nearly a quarter of a century before,
he found out that God had answered
every one of his prayers. God had an
swered them with better results than
even his faith at that time had dared
to hope. So the aged Christian opens
the book of memory. AS he fingers
the many soiled leaves of that book he
testifes how God cared for him when
he was young man.. He testifies how
God cared for him when he was mid
die aged, and he testifies how the
love of God is protecting and caring
for him now that he is an old man.
He testifies just as the aged psalmist
testified of Gods goodness when he
wrote, 81 have been young and now
am old, yet have 1 not seen the right
eous forsaken nor his seed begging
bread"
Never let any man tell you that the
aged Christians influence is useless
influence The Bible distinctly says,
"They shall still bear fruit in their old
age" No better fruit can it bring than
the personal testimony of Gods faith
fulness, which your children will never
forget When skeptics assail them
with doubts, they will be able to say,
"My father put Gods promises to the
proof, and he declared that he had
found them true"
Sustained by the Gospel.
One night in large infidel meeting
an old gray haired Christian woman
arose and addressed the speaker in
these words: 81 would like to ask
the speaker what his infidel beliefs
have ever done for him? My gospel
religion sustained me when l was left
a poor widow with six fatherless chill
dren to support. My religion has given
me hope and courage when have had
to stand by the brink of an open grave.
My religion has made me a purer,
truer, drawer woman to face the strug
giles of life. That, sir, is what my
faith in Jesus Christ has done for me.
What have your infidel beliefs done
for your The infidel could not an
swer. The whole audience realized
that the Christian woman was speak
| ing out of her own life's experience.
So the mightiest witnesses for God
| are those whose Christian testimonies
| are the outgrowths of the many, many
years that are gone.
| The aged Christian influences for
| good those who are near to him be-
cause he is able to lavish upon them a
wealth of boundless. fervent, tender
! Christian affection. While we are
young and even middle aged we spend
most Of our time in doing for others
rather than in showing the sweet man.
Hesitation of our affections. We are
like Martha, who went into the kitch-
en- to cook Jesus a dinner, rather than
like Mary, who sat at the feet of
| Christ.
When Jesus. sad and weary, longing sore
| For loves sweet service, sought the sis
| ters' door,
| One saw the heavenly, one the human
| guest,
But who can say which loved the Master
| best?
While we are young or middle aged
we are like the busy merchant, who
spends most of his time in the store
and the office in order to earn money
enough to support his children, rather
than like the old grandfather and the
grandmother, who spend most of their
time in spelling their grandchildren
until at last the married daughter turns
and says: Father and mother, | be.
lieve you love my children better than
you ever loved me when l was young
Anyway, you pet them far more than
you ever petted me-" Many q mechanic
has but little time to fondle or caress
home for work before the children are
out of bed. He does not return until
late at night when the babies have
been again tucked away in their cribs
A Mighty influence.
Editor Brown said that it took him
nearly fifth of century to find ou,
how much his father loved him. WheI
he was boy at home, his father was
always busy earning money to support
the family. Sometimes he was sell
absorbed, gruff and stern and seem
ingly harsh. But after awhile his ia
theirs health broke down. Then the
boy felt he ought to leave home, al
there were too many mouths to fill
from his fathers scanty savings. TIL,
morning he left the old man walked
down the road with him. Then thu
feeble old father put his hand upol
the young mans shoulder, and tears
came into his eyes and his lip culver