The free press. (Poplarville, Miss.) 1890-19??, 1902-02-20


triumph upon passages OF life that are usu-
ally thought to be somewhat gloomy; text,
Zaehariah xiv, 7, "At evening time it shall
be light"
While might" in all languages is the
symbol for gloom and suffering, it is often
really cheerful, bright and impressive. /
speak not of such nights as come down
with no star pouring light from above or
silvered wave tossing up light from be-
neath-murky, hurting, portentious, but
such as you often see when the pomp and
magnifcence of heaven turn out on night
parade, and it seems as though the song
which the morning stars began SO long ago
were Ginning yet among the consultations
and the sons of God were shouting for Joy.
Such lights the sailor blesses from the fore
castle, and the trapper on vast prairie, and
the belated traveller by the roadside, and
the soldier from the tent, earthly hosts
gazing upon heavenly and shepherds guard
ing their focks afield, while angel hands
above them set the silver bells a-ringing,
"Glory to God in the highest and ON earth
peace; good will toward men"
What solemn and glorious thing is
night in the wilderness Night among the
mountains! Night on the ocean, Fra
grant night among tropical groyesl Flash
ing night amid arctic severitiesl Calm
night on Roman campagna! Awful night
among the cordillerasi Glorious night mid
night The moon and the stars which rule
1t are lighthouses on the coast toward
which l hope we are all sailing, and blind
mariners are we if, with SO many beaming,
burning, flaming glories to guide US, we
cannot find our way into the harbor.
My text may well suggest that, as the
natural evening is often luminous, SO it
shall be light in the evening of our sorrows,
of old age, of the worlds history, of the
Christian life. "At eventime it shall be
light"
This prophecy will be fulfilled in the
evening of Christian sorrow. For long
time it is broad daylight. The sun rides
Aigh. Innumerable activities go ahead with
o thousand feet and work with thousand
arms, and the pickax struck a mine, and
the battery made discovery, and the in
vestment yielded its twenty per cent, and
the book came to it's twentieth edition, and
the farm quadrupled in value, and sudden
fortune hoisted to high position, and chill
dren were praised, and friends without
number swarmed into the family hive, and
prosperity sang in the music and stepped
In the oance and glowed in the wine and
ate at the banquet, and all the gods of mu-
sic and ease and qualification gathered
around this Jupiter holding in his hands
so many thunderbolts of power. But every
sun must set, and the brightest day must
have It's twilight. Suddenly the sky was
overcast. The fountain dried up. The
song hushed. The wolf broke into the fam
ally fold and carried off the best lamb. A
deep howl of woe came crashing down
Through the joyous symphonies. At one
rough twang of the hand of disaster the
harpstrings all broke. Down went the
tablished credit! Up few flock of calum-
mics! The new book would not sell! A
patent could not be secured for the inven-
sion! Stocks sank like lead, The insurance
company exploded How much" says
the Sheriff, will you bid for this piano?
How much for this library? How much
for this family picture? How much! Win
you let it go at less than half price? Going
-going-goneW
Will the grace of God hold one up in
such circumstances! What has become of
the great multitude of Gods children who
have been pounded of the fail and crushed
under the wheel and trampled under the
ing, wailing and crashing their teeth? Did
they when they were afflicted like Job
curse God and want to die2 When the rod
OF fatherly chastisement struck them, did
they strike back? Because they found one
bitter cup on the table Of Gods supply,
did they upset the whole tablet Did they
kneel down at their empty money vault
and say, "All my treasures are gomez
Did they stand by the grave of their dead.
saying, There never viii be a resurrec,
tion?"
Did they bemoan their thwarted plans
and say, 'The stocks are down; would God
1 were dead?" Did the night of their dis
aster come upon them moonless, starless,
dank and bowling, smothering and choking
was light. The swift promises overlook
them. The eternal consultations, from
their circuit about Gods throne, poured
down an infinite lustre. Under their shin
Jag the pillows of trouble took on crests
and plumes of gold and jasper and anne
thyst and fame. All the trees of life
rustled in the midsummer of Code love.
The night blooming assurances of Christ's
sympathy filled all the atmosphere with
heaven.
The soul at every step seemed to start
up from lite feet bright winged joys, warb-
2ing heavenward 1T is good that / have
been afflicted" cried David '''The Lord
exclaims Job. "sorrowful, yet always re-
joicing," says st. Paul. And God shall
wipe away all tears from their eyes!" ex-
claims John in apocalyptic vision. At
eventime il was light. Light from the
cross! Light from the promises! Light
from the throne! Streaming, joyous, out
gushing, everlasting light!
Again, the taxi shall find ful6llment in
the time of old age. 1t is grand thing to
be young, to have the sight clear and the,
hearing acute and the step elastic and all
our pulses marching on to the drumming OF
a stout heart. Midlife and old age will be
denied many of us, but youth-ve all know
what that is. Those wrinkles were not al
ways on your BROW that snow was not a.
ways on your head; that brawny muscle
did not always bunch your arm; you have
not always worn spectacles. Grave and
dignifed as you now are. you once went
cossting down the hillside or threw off
your hat for the race or sent the ball fly
ing sky high. But youth will not always
last. 1t stays only long enough to give Us
exuberant spirits and broad shoulders for
burden carrying and an arm with which to |
battle our way through difficulties. Life's |
path, if you follow it long enough, viii |
come under frowning crag and cross trem
bling causeway. Blessed old age. if you
let it come naturally. You cannot hide it. |
You may try to cover the wrinkles, but |
you cannot cover the wrinkles. If the time
has come for you to be old, be not ashamed !
to be old. The grandcst things in all the |
universe are old-old mountains, old riv- |